According to Tom Pelisero, an NFL insider, the Dallas Cowboys have fired Will Grier and Cooper Rush from their practice squad. This leaves Dak Prescott, their starting quarterback on their 53 man roster.
Rush and Grier fought with Ben DiNucci through all of training camp, and the preseason for their backup quarterback position. DiNucci was released Monday before Rush and Grier were on Tuesday before being added back to the team’s practice squad today.
It’s not very common for teams to have only one quarterback heading into the season. However, the Cowboys will likely make use of their time between now & their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in order to further evaluate Rush and Grier to determine who will be their backup.
Cooper Rush is entering his fifth season as an NFL player. He was signed by the Cowboys in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan. Rush was an All-MAC player twice in college. He finished his career with the Chippewas with 49 starts, 12,894 yards passing (just shy of a school record and conference record) and 90 touchdowns.
Rush was a backup quarterback and third-string quarterback for the Cowboys his first four years. After the Cowboys signed Andy Dalton, Rush was released by the Cowboys. He spent several months with the New York Giants and was then resigned by them in 2021. Rush made his first NFL appearance in 2021 in Cowboys’ week 8 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. He was there to replace injured Dak Prescott. Rush threw for 325 yard and 2 touchdowns, leading to a victory.
Rush was active in all three Cowboys’ preseason games this season, throwing for 136 yards and zero touchdowns. Rush also had an interception.
Will Grier, on the other side, had a better preseason with the Cowboys. He threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns in only two games. He also added 35 rush yards on six attempts. After a two-year stint as a Carolina Panthers player, Grier was signed off waivers at the Cowboys in September 2021.
Grier was drafted by the Panthers in the third round, 2019 NFL Draft. He was the 100th overall pick from West Virginia. Grier made two consecutive starts in 2019, for the Panthers. In week 16, he was a loss with 224 yards and three interceptions. In the second round, he only threw four yards and one interception before he was forced to leave the game due to a foot injury. Grier did not see any regular season action during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.