National Football League

Should the Cowboys explore the QB market after Dak Prescott's latest injury?

Updated Aug. 20, 2021 7:05 p.m. ET

The NFL season opener on Sept. 9 offers a matchup filled with enough star power to light up a stadium.

The Dallas Cowboys head to Raymond James Stadium to take on the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game that should feature two of the NFL's most high-powered offenses in 2021.

The only issue is that the status of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott could be in question.

After missing 11 games in 2020 due to a compound fracture of his right ankle, Prescott had recovered with no setbacks to get back onto the field for training camp. The Cowboys also invested $160 million in the QB, via the four-year deal he agreed to with the franchise.

But since suffering a strained lat in his right shoulder early in training camp, Prescott has seen his time on the field cut short and his practice with the starters limited.

With Prescott's availability and durability coming into question, it might be the perfect time for the Cowboys to acquire a quality backup quarterback in case their starter isn't ready for Week 1.

Plus, there are some good options available, according to Colin Cowherd, which he discussed on "The Herd."

"This is not a good enough football team to go to the backup quarterback and win five games," he said. "Washington [Football Team] is better. The [New York] Giants should be better. Jerry's got that 350-foot yacht. He needs to get on that small, little iPhone right now and call the Chicago Bears or Jacksonville Jaguars."

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Both Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew offer more upside and experience than Cooper Rush, Garrett Gilbert or Ben DiNucci, who are all reserves to Prescott currently.

Foles, currently with the Bears, led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl win in 2018 and the playoffs in 2019. Jaguars backup Minshew has thrown 37 touchdown passes in 23 career games played, more than any of the Cowboys' current alternatives to Prescott. Both could be available for the right price.

If there is good news surrounding Prescott, though, it is that his shoulder seems to be progressing, and he is optimistic about his chances of playing in Week 1.

"We are still trying to be cautious with everything moving forward," he said in a recent interview with Sirius XM, "just trying to make sure that I don't have any setbacks throughout the season so that I can hit Week 1 rolling with no speed bumps."

Even if Prescott is ready to hit the ground running for the season opener, it wouldn't hurt for the Cowboys to have a good insurance policy on hand.

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