Yahoo Sports Who is Cooper Rush? What to know about Cowboys QB replacing Dak Prescott
The Dallas Cowboys suffered a blow during their 27-21 Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the fourth quarter of the defeat.
Initially, the hope was that the injury wasn't too serious and that Prescott would be able to return to action after a couple of weeks on the sideline.
Instead, Prescott found out he needed season-ending surgery to repair a hamstring avulsion – an injury that occurs when part of the hamstring tendon tears off the bone to which it is connected.
As a result, the Cowboys will have to rely on their quarterback depth to get it through the rest of the 2024 NFL season. While Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, may be the better-known of the team's backup quarterbacks, Cooper Rush is getting the first chance to replace Prescott.
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Who is Cooper Rush?
Rush is a 30-year-old quarterback who is in his eighth NFL season. He has spent almost his entire career with the Cowboys after signing with them following the 2017 NFL draft. He had a brief, five-month stop with the New York Giants in 2020 but eventually returned to Dallas during the season after injuries to Prescott and then-backup quarterback Andy Dalton.
Rush has remained in Dallas since then and earned the team's backup quarterback job for the 2021 NFL season. He will make his eighth career start for the team when the Cowboys take on the Houston Texans on "Monday Night Football" in Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season.
Cooper Rush record
Rush posted a 5-2 record in his first seven starts with the Cowboys. He won his first five starts with Dallas, becoming the 14th quarterback in NFL history and first-ever Cowboys quarterback to begin his career with a 5-0 record.
Here is the full list of the 14 quarterbacks to achieve that feat:
Daryle Lamonica, 1963-67
Mike Livingston, 1969-72
Mike Kruczek, 1976
Dieter Brock, 1985
Mike Tomczak, 1986-87
Jeff Hostetler, 1988-91
Daunte Culpepper, 1999
Kurt Warner, 1999
Marc Bulger, 2002
Ben Roethlisberger, 2004-05
Jimmy Garoppolo 2016-17
Patrick Mahomes, 2017-18
Kyle Allen, 2018-19
Cooper Rush, 2021-22
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Cooper Rush stats
Entering Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season, Rush has thrown 298 career passes and posted decent, albeit unspectacular, numbers. Below is a look at his full stats:
Comp. %: 59.7
Passing yards: 1,831
Passing TDs: 9
INTs: 6
Rating: 79.1
Yards/attempt: 6.1
Carries: 37
Rushing yards: 13
Rushing TDs: 0
Some may be surprised by Rush's 0.4 yards per carry average for his career, but it should be noted that he has, on occasion, been used to kneel out Cowboys victories in lieu of Prescott. That, plus his lack of upper-end mobility, explains his lack of rushing production.
Most of Rush's passing production has come since the start of the 2021 NFL season. He attempted just three passes in his first four seasons, all of which came during his rookie year in 2017.
Where did Cooper Rush go to college?
Rush went to Central Michigan from 2012-16. He was a four-year starter – taking over for another four-year starter, Ryan Radcliffe – for the Chippewas and broke several records during his time at the school.
Rush owns Central Michigan's single-season passing yards record, as he logged 3,848 yards during his penultimate year with the program in 2015. He also owns the school's single-game passing yards and passing touchdowns record. Both were set in a 2014 game against Western Kentucky, where he threw for 493 yards and seven touchdowns.
Rush finished his college career just 11 yards shy of tying Dan LeFevour's school-record12,905 passing yards. He also finished second behind LeFevour in touchdown passes, trailing the Chicago Bears' sixth-round draft pick in 2010 by a margin of 102-90 overall.
Rush earned second-team All-MAC honors during his junior year and was named to the conference's third team for 2016.
Cooper Rush college stats
Rush made 49 consecutive starts to close his college career at Central Michigan. Below is a look at his career stats from his four years as the team's leading signal-caller.
Comp. %: 62
Passing yards: 12,894
Passing TDs: 90
INTs: 55
Rating: 139.1
Yards/attempt: 7.8
Rush also logged five rushing touchdowns with the Chippewas. However, because college football counts sacks as negative rushing yards, he racked up negative-108 rushing yards during his four-year college career.
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Was Cooper Rush drafted?
Rush declared for the 2017 NFL Draft but was not among the 10 quarterbacks selected. He signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent and beat out Luke McCown for the third-string quarterback role behind Prescott and Kellen Moore.
From there, Rush gradually worked his way up the depth chart to become Dallas' backup. Now, he will get a chance to be their starter for a bit with Prescott out of action.
Cowboys QB depth chart
The Cowboys currently have three healthy quarterbacks on their active roster and practice squad. They are as follows:
Cooper Rush
Trey Lance
Lance was a touted draft pick for whom the Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick before the 2023 NFL season. The North Dakota State product hasn't shown much during his NFL career to date, but he could threaten Rush's standing atop the depth chart if the veteran struggles as much as he did against the Philadelphia Eagles. Rush completed 13-of-23 passes for just 45 yards in that contest.
Grier spent the 2021-22 seasons with the Cowboys and recently signed to the team's practice squad. The 29-year-old has played for six different NFL teams since being selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, so he doesn't figure to challenge for playing time barring injuries to both Rush and Lance.
Cooper Rush contract details
Rush is in the final year of a two-year, $5 million deal he signed with Dallas in March 2023, per Spotrac.com. The Cowboys quarterback will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, so his performance could be critical in assessing his value as a free agent.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Cooper Rush? Stats, record, more to know about Cowboys QB
