Ranking the top 10 Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks of all time

There's no position in any of the major sports that comes with a larger spotlight than playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

Made famous by the superstars of the 1970s, the signal-caller in Big D is supposed to be a team leader and someone fans can look up to. Unfortunately, they haven't found one to bring them postseason success since Troy Aikman but there are still plenty of talented quarterbacks to have represented the franchise.

Here, we look at the 10 best to ever wear the star on their helmet.

10. Jason Garrett (1993-1999)

Regular season record: 6-3

No. 16 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 2,042

When a team has found as many franchise quarterbacks as the Cowboys have, it's hard to find 10 guys who were long-time starters. That's why a few reserves found their way into the conversation and while Cooper Rush could wind up overtaking this spot with another run, Jason Garrett comes in as No. 10.

Garrett spent seven seasons in Dallas and was typically the No. 3 quarterback. But he proved he could hold the fort down in 1994 when he was pressed into action following injuries to both Troy Aikman and Rodney Peete on Thanksgiving Day.

Against the Green Bay Packers, Garrett threw for 311 yards with two touchdowns as Dallas shocked the Green Bay Packers in a 42-31 victory. While Garrett never again put up video game numbers, he did get nine starts and led the Cowboys to wins in six of those.

His stats might not jump off the page but when Garrett would step into the game, the coaching staff knew they could trust him and the fans knew he would give them a chance.

9. Steve Beuerlein (1991-1992)

Regular season record: 4-0

No. 21 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 1,061

Again, when a team has had as many long-term signal callers as the Cowboys have, there are some players who crack the top 10 that fans normally wouldn't think of. That's the case with Steve Beuerlein who was with the franchise for just two seasons and played in a total of 24 games with four starts — and he was 4-0 in those starts.

Beuerlein was added ahead of the 1991 season as Jimmy Johnson wanted a trusted backup to play behind Troy Aikman. Beuerlein just spent three seasons with the Raiders and was 8-7 with 3,320 yards and a 21-to-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Those numbers weren't exactly going to get him to the Hall of Fame but anyone would take that from their No. 2 at the time. And with Dallas, he was even better.

In 1991, he replaced an injured Aikman and threw for 909 yards with five touchdowns and two picks. He even led them to a win that doesn't go under his belt, throwing a late touchdown pass in Week 13 of that season to Michael Irvin, knocking off Washington who was 11-0 at the time.

Beuerlein even stayed in the lineup when Aikman recovered, leading them to a playoff win over the Chicago Bears.

The following season, Aikman took off and Beuerlein hardly saw the field again. He had a short sting with the Cardinals before starting 51 games for the Carolina Panthers.

8. Drew Bledsoe (2005-2006)

Regular season record: 12-10

No. 11 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 4,803

For much of Bill Parcells' short tenure with Dallas, he was looking for a quarterback. After trying out Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson, and Chad Hutchinson, he thought he had his guy in 2005. The Buffalo Bills just released Drew Bledsoe and he reunited with Parcells, who picked him first overall when he was the head coach of the New England Patriots.

Bledsoe had a lot of success with the Pats, even making it to Super Bowl XXXI, although they lost to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. With Dallas, he was also reuniting with Terry Glenn as well, another former Patriot.

In addition to Glenn, the Cowboys had Keyshawn Johnson and the strong-armed Bledsoe was expected to have a lot of success with them. He did manage to throw for 3,639 yards with 23 touchdowns but they missed the playoffs despite going 9-7.

The following year, Dallas added Terrell Owens to replace Johnson, and Bledsoe was really expected to succeed with the superstar wideout. However, he threw eight interceptions and just seven touchdowns in his first six starts and was replaced at halftime in Week 7 by Tony Romo — and then Bledsoe retired after the season ended.

Despite the early end of his tenure, Bledsoe brought some much-needed leadership to the position. He made Dallas relevant and it wasn't as if he was benched for a nobody, since Romo wound up holding the job for the next decade.

7. Don Meredith (1960-1968)

Regular season record: 47-32-4

No. 6 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 17,199

After staring at SMU, the Chicago Bears selected "Dandy" Don Meredith in the third round of the NFL Draft but he never played a snap for them. Instead, he signed a "personal services" contract with Tecon Corporation ahead of the draft — a company that was owned by Clint Murchison who was starting a new NFL team — the Cowboys.

This led to Meredith playing with Dallas instead although he hardly saw the field as a rookie. Eddie LeBaron got the bulk of the snaps, going 0-9-1. Meredith did record one start but it was another loss for the Cowboys. As a rookie, he finished with 281 yards and a 2-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

He continued to play sparingly but took over as the starter in 1963. Following a couple of losing campaigns, Meredith and the Cowboys turned a corner in 1965. That year, they were 7-7 but Meredith was 7-4 in his starts. In 1966, they had their first winning campaign, going 10-3-1 with Meredith making every start except one.

In addition to the team's success, Meredith had personal bests in yardage (2,805) and touchdowns (24) and made the Pro Bowl for the first of three years in a row.

Nearly as quickly as he rose to prominence, Meredith decided to walk away from the game. At 30 years of age, and on the heels of an 11-2 season, he decided to call it a career.

His aspirations went beyond the playing field as he got into broadcasting, and was on Monday Night Football with Frank Gifford and Howard Cossell. He also had a career in acting, appearing in both television and movies.

6. Craig Morton (1965-1974)

Regular season record: 32-14-1

No. 7 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 10,279

Craig Morton spent 10 years with the Cowboys after they took him fifth overall in the 1965 NFL Draft out of Cal. Despite being with the team for a full decade, Morton wound up starting just 47 games.

At first, he was playing behind Don Meredith who retired after Morton spent four seasons on the bench. He then got his chance to be the No. 1 quarterback and had early success.

Originally playing ahead of Roger Staubach, Morton led the Cowboys to a 10-2-1 mark as the starter in 1969 and got to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Baltimore Colts. He followed that up with an 8-3 mark as the starter in 1970. Then in 1971, he had to alternate snaps with Staubach, and eventually, Morton lost his job.

It was controversial at the time since Morton had been winning but when Staubach led them to a Super Bowl win over Miami, no one questioned the move ever again. He stuck around for another couple of seasons but after requesting a trade several times — and being selected by the Houston Texans of the World Football League — Morton was traded to the New York Giants.

He found a career-resurgence in 1977 when he joined the Denver Broncos and led then to a 12-2 record. Morton played until 1982 and retired at 39 years old. He finished by playing six years in Denver and was 41-23 and even made it to the Super Bowl in 1977 — where he and the Broncos lost to Dallas.

5. Danny White (1976-1988)

Regular season record: 62-30

No. 5 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 21,959

There used to be a time when players occupying multiple positions was commonplace in the NFL. That doesn't mean a guard who can also play tackle or a defensive back that can move from corner to safety. Instead, there were times when a player could be listed as an offensive tackle and kicker — like Lou Groza was for the Cleveland Browns.

For the Dallas Cowboys, they had a similar situation as Danny White spent four seasons as the primary punter while also serving as the No. 2 quarterback behind Roger Staubach.

Originally a member of the Memphis Southmen in the World Football League, White signed with Dallas in 1976 when the WFL folded. He was a part of their Super Bowl run in 1977, punting the ball 80 times that year for 3,171 yards. He did complete four passes during the regular season and was even 1-of-2 for five yards in their Super Bowl win over Craig Morton and the Denver Broncos.

Eventually, White took over when Staubach retired and was the starter from 1980 through 1987. In all, he made 92 starts in his career and was 62-30 — even leading Dallas to double-digit winning seasons in 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1985.

White was 5-5 in the postseason but he never won a title as the starting quarterback. That seems to be the only knock on an otherwise impressive career.

4. Dak Prescott (2016-Present)

Regular season record: 61-36

No. 3 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 24,943

When Tony Romo missed the majority of the 2015 campaign, the Cowboys were in the market for a backup they could groom behind him. They looked at several players including Carson Wentz, Paxton Lynch, and Connor Cook. Eventually, Wentz went too high and they didn't pull the trigger on trades for either Lynch or Cook — and are still somehow picked on for those two being disappointments.

Fortunately for Dallas, none of those moves panned out since it meant they went to one of their fallback options — Dak Prescott. Selected with a compensatory fourth-round pick, Prescott was the 135th player taken in 2016.

Known as a dual threat for Mississippi State, Prescott was expected to spend a couple of years behind Romo, but that didn't happen. An injury to Romo and his top backup Kellen Moore meant Prescott would start in Week 1 and he not only played well but never surrendered the job.

Prescott led Dallas to a 13-3 record and won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award when he threw for 3,667 yards with 23 touchdowns and just four picks.

Now entering his eighth season at the helm, Prescott has a solid 61-36 record with 24,943 yards (third in team history) and 166 touchdowns (second in team history). He also has the most touchdowns in a single season by a Cowboys quarterback, throwing for 37 in 2021.

Prescott will be 30 years old in 2023 and that means he has time to surpass every team record. However, the only way he leapfrogs his way into the top 3 spots would be with some success in the playoffs.

3. Tony Romo (2003-2016)

Regular season record: 78-49

No. 1 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 34,183

There's this very unfair narrative around Tony Romo that he's an underachiever. While it's true he never won a title, No. 9 should go down as one of the biggest overachievers in the history of the NFL.

Despite setting multiple passing records at Eastern Illinois, Romo was only asked to come to the 2003 Scouting Combine as an extra arm. They didn't want the good prospects to tire out throwing the ball, so they asked players such as Romo to show up.

Once there, he caught the eye of a couple of teams including the Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Of course, each team already had him on the radar since Sean Payton (who was the offensive coordinator in Dallas at the time) and Mike Shanahan (Denver's coach that year) were both Eastern Illinois products as well.

Romo still went undrafted and chose Dallas over Denver, which proved to be a great move for both parties. He spent three seasons on the bench before Bill Parcells finally gave him a shot in Week 7 of the 2006 campaign. Romo replaced an ineffective Drew Bledsoe and proceeded to break every passing record in team history.

By the time his career was done, Romo had the most passing yards in team history with 34,183 as well as the most touchdowns with 248. He also has the single-season record for yards with 4,903 in 2012 and is second in touchdowns with 36 in 2007.

As a regular-season quarterback, Romo was electric and went 78-49 as a starter and has nearly every important passing record for one of the most storied franchises in league history. That's despite being undrafted. However, his inability to get it done in the postseason is why he didn't crack the top two — and why he's unfairly called an underachiever.

2. Roger Staubach (1969-1979)

Regular season record: 85-29

No. 4 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 22,700

Roger Staubach is often listed as not only the best quarterback in Dallas history but also the best player they've ever had. While it's true he's their first big star, he sometimes gets bumped there due to the fact that he helped turn the franchise into a powerhouse. He was also wildly popular during the 1970s due to the fact that he served in the United States Navy.

Staubach was taken in the 10th round of the 1964 NFL Draft but was a "future" selection since he still had to serve in the Navy. He finished his duty in 1968 and finally was able to join the Cowboys in 1969 as a 27-year-old rookie.

His career began as a backup to Craig Morton who even took them to the Super Bowl in 1970 — although they lost to the Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas.

The following year, Tom Landry started a controversy when he allowed Staubach to compete with Morton and the backup wound up taking over. It proved to be the right call as Staubach went 10-0 that year and led Dallas to their first Super Bowl win.

By the time his career was done, Staubach had put up another win in the Super Bowl and was a six-time Pro Bowler, and one-time NFL passing yardage leader. He ended up with an 85-29 record and threw for 22,700 yards (fourth in team history) and 153 touchdowns (fifth overall in team history).

1. Troy Aikman (1989-2000)

Regular season record: 94-71

No. 2 All-Time Cowboys Passing Yardage: 32,942

In nearly every Dallas quarterback ranking, Roger Staubach is going to come in at No. 1 due to what he meant to the franchise. While it's true he was the first true superstar in team history, there's another quarterback who surpassed him later on, which was Troy Aikman.

Staubach might still be the most popular player to ever suit up for Dallas but there's never been a quarterback as successful in the postseason as Aikman. And unlike Staubach, who took over for a team that was just in the Super Bowl, Aikman turned a struggling franchise back into a winning organization — and one of the best dynasties of all time.

Dallas had gone 3-13 in 1988 and then saw a lot of change. Jerry Jones purchased the franchise from Harvey Bright and fired Tom Landry. He then brought in Jimmy Johnson and they used the No. 1 overall pick on Aikman.

The UCLA product was 0-11 as a rookie and the team went 1-15 overall. They quickly turned a corner and went 7-9 in 1990 followed by 11-5 in 1991. Then in 1992, they became known as a dynasty.

That was the year Aikman led them to their third Super Bowl win and the first of three wins in a four-year period.

Dallas might have been known as a run-first offense during that stretch but Aikman was insanely clutch in the postseason. In 1992, he managed to throw for 795 yards with eight touchdowns and no picks. He even led them to a massive 52-17 win over the Bills that year to capture the title.

In all, Aikman threw for 32,942 yards with 165 touchdowns in the regular season and added 3,849 yards and 23 touchdowns in the playoffs. Despite playing with the NFL's all-time rushing leader, Aikman is still second in franchise history in passing yardage and touchdowns (behind only Tony Romo in each category).

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