The Dallas Cowboys have been a team in turmoil this season. Settling in at 3-7, their playoff hopes lie dead in the water, and Mike McCarthy’s been on the hotseat. All that despite claims from team owner/GM Jerry Jones that he has no plans of a mid-season firing.

With the New York Giants releasing quarterback Daniel Jones, could he be the answer to the Cowboys’ woes? Well, not right now, at the very least. Mike McCarthy has made it clear that they’re not keen to snag him up directly.

That’s not to say that he’s not an option, but McCarthy’s just stating outright that he’s not going to be judging Jones based on his pedigree. His recent performance has made it obvious he’s struggling, and the Cowboys need someone they can bank on.

That’s what they thought they had in Dak Prescott (why else would they pay him $60 million a year?). Until his hamstring injury brought his season to a premature close, that is. But it’s obvious he wasn’t working out for them this season, anyway. The Cowboys bet big on the Prescott-Lamb partnership, but it didn’t pay dividends. The Week 9 game that saw Prescott tear his hamstring might have been at a salvageable point in their campaign, but things still weren’t looking good.

At the end of that game the Dallas Cowboys stood 3-5, on a 3 game losing streak. Hardly fitting for a team that was reportedly gunning for a Super Bowl win. If anything, Chris Canty’s been vindicated like never before. With Daniel Jones not finding a home on the Cowboys’ roster (at least immediately), who will McCarthy be looking to?

Who does Mike McCarthy put in at quarterback?

If you’ve been even moderately active in the Dallas Cowboys fandom the last couple of weeks, you know fans are baffled at McCarthy. Not that this would be the first time this year, of course. The Cowboys have two options in their roster to replace Dak Prescott. The first is their handy backup Cooper Rush, an undrafted player they first signed back in 2017, though he’s been a bit on-and-off. At 31-years-old, he’s a bit long in the tooth, but he’s had some game experience. Most notably in 2022, during Prescott’s previous injury.

Then there’s Trey Lance, a #3 overall pick in 2021, who simply hasn’t had much time on the field. He had what amounts to a guest appearance a couple weeks back against the Eagles, completing 4 of 6 passes for 21 yards. The kid’s clearly got potential fans think is being wasted. But McCarthy’s made up his mind. With Cooper Rush consistently underperforming, fans can’t help but scratch their heads.

Surely it’s worth at least trying him out, right? Devin McCourty might have put it best, even before their roles were announced, “It just seems like as an organization you’ve been gifted this opportunity to go see what he can do but in true Cowboy fashion who knows if they’ll actually take advantage of it.” Let’s see how things pan out.