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As soon as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went down on Sunday Night Football vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hundreds of sports journalists started writing pieces about which NFL QB Jerry Jones should trade for. Despite the glut of suggestions, rankings, and predictions, Jones never even considered trading for another signal-caller, and that’s not because of how much he believes in Cooper Rush.  

Jerry Jones didn’t trade for a QB because of optimistic Dak Prescott injury news

Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys looks on during warmups before Week 2.
Dak Prescott | Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys offense didn’t look good through three-plus quarters against the Buccaneers in Week 1. Dak Prescott was just 14-of-29 for 134 yards with an interception and no touchdowns.

Then Prescott hit his throwing hand on a Bucs defender, fracturing his thumb. Backup Cooper Rush came in and looked rough as well. His final line was 7-of-13 for 64 yards.

After the game, Jerry Jones confirmed that Prescott would miss multiple weeks with the injury. But after a closer medical review, the Cowboys decided not to put the QB on IR, guaranteeing he’d miss four games.

On the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show, NFL insider Jay Glazer explained what the good news surrounding Prescott is and why the Cowboys didn’t even consider trading for a replacement:

Here’s the deal. Where the fracture was, was bottom of the thumb there. So, they put a plate in there. That wound from that surgery that takes about seven to ten days to heal. Problem after that is, how quickly does his grip come back? … So, you’re hearing reports: four to six weeks, six to eight weeks, you don’t know about it. But it is better than they originally thought, so much so that the Cowboys never thought about trading for a quarterback to bring in in the meantime.

Jay Glazer on Dak Prescott injury

So, Jerry Jones didn’t consider trading for a QB not because of his belief in Copper Rush but because of the news that Prescott would return sooner rather than later.

Even if this was the case, Rush stepped up and validated Jones’ decision — at least for one week — by leading the Cowboys to a Week 2 upset over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cooper Rush got the job done in Week 2 to keep the Cowboys’ 2022 season alive

The defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals came into the Dallas Cowboy’s AT&T Stadium in Week 2 as a touchdown favorite.

Despite the public’s belief in the Bengals, Micah Parsons, Cooper Rush, and the Cowboys showed up to play in Dak Prescott’s absence.

The Dallas D was excellent on Sunday afternoon, holding Joe Burrow to 199 yards passing and sacking him six times. Second-year sensation Micah Parsons had two sacks, bringing his 2022 season total to four after two games.

The Cowboys offense was extremely solid, too, especially considering the situation. Rush was 19-of-31 for 235 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Ezekiel Elliot gained hard yards (15 carries, 53 yards), and Tony Pollard (nine carries, 43 yards, one touchdown) had some explosive runs to get the win for Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones.

The game got the Cowboys back to .500 and kept them very much alive in both the NFC and NFC North playoff races. Now, the Cowboys need to play well again next week vs. their 2-0 division rival New York Giants.

After that, the Dak Prescott injury watch will be on, and if this whole thing works out OK, it’s a testament to Jones’ team-building skills that many in the media don’t believe in anymore.

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Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.