Dallas Cowboys fans have been ready for the season to end for what feels like months. Well, congratulations, you have reached the finished line.
Only one game stands in the way of the 2025 offseason, which promises to be absolutely excruciating if you've paid attention to what Jerry and Stephen Jones have spewed to the media recently.
Even though the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention two weeks ago, they insisted on letting Trey Lance ride the bench in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. Lance should have replaced Cooper Rush the moment Rush threw his second interception to C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
With Rush coming off his worst game in a Dallas uniform, surely Jerry Jones is considering starting Lance in Sunday's finale against Washington, right? Nope. On the contrary, Jones is "pleased" with how Rush has played and wants to put the team in the best position to succeed.
Cowboys' plan for Trey Lance after the season is obvious after Jerry Jones comment
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan didn't have a definitive answer when asked if he wanted to see Trey Lance play Sunday. "Overall, I'm real pleased with how (Cooper) Rush has played. ... We'll be doing some things (Sunday) that are in the best interest for our team going…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 31, 2024
Jones' comment comes after Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team "wants to finish strong against Washington." The Joneses have stated numerous times since Dak Prescott went down that Rush gives them the best chance to win.
That winning is still the priority even with the season effectively over tell us that Dallas is hoping to bring Lance back on a remarkably cheap contract. That is the only reason to explain why they refuse to play the 24-year-old in favor of a lifetime backup who has a relatively low ceiling.
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Former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus floated this idea during Sunday's loss. The more we think about it, the more it makes sense ... for this front office.
Both Lance and Rush are free agents after the season. Rush has his flaws, but he's among the most serviceable backups in the NFL. It stands to reason he'll have a market - certainly a bigger one than Lance.
The 31-year-old was actually on a flight last March to meet with the Raiders before Dallas swooped in with a last-minute offer. A variety of teams around the league need a backup and Rush is a respectable 9-5 in his career with a 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The Joneses are probably thinking Lance can't raise his already-sunken value by riding the bench, thus giving them an opportunity to sign him for the cheapest deal possible. We would argue that they should actually evaluate Lance before re-signing him, but at The Star saving money often trumps logic.
Dallas has refused to waive the white flag on the Lance trade. They haven't got any returns on their fourth-round investment, but we suppose the deal would look better from an optics standpoint if Lance managed to win the QB2 job next summer.
Regardless, expect Lance to be back with the Cowboys in 2025.