No drama here: Dak will still be QB1, coach says

FRISCO, Texas — To Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, there will be no quarterback dilemma.

On Thursday, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he hoped Cooper Rush would play so well that the Cowboys could have a decision to make once Dak Prescott is healthy enough to return from right thumb surgery.

“I’m just trying to say this with a straight face,” McCarthy said Friday. “Like anything, you look at the whole thing, it’s about winning. That’s all we really care about. There is no quarterback controversy. … Dak is our starter.”

McCarthy playfully chided the media for the reaction to Jones’ comments.

“We think you have to have a bigger responsibility in that,” McCarthy said. “I think you need to be able to decipher between GM Jerry and owner Jerry. He can do that in like midsentence, too. I think you all need to do a better job of that. Get to work.”

McCarthy acknowledged it took him some time to decipher between GM Jerry and owner Jerry.

“You know the pandemic was definitely, umm, camouflaged a lot of the opportunities,” McCarthy said.

Rush said he and Prescott “got a good laugh” over the comments.

“I think he just wants to win games and that’s what we all want to do,” Rush said of Jones.

Rush said he “definitely don’t dream as big as Jerry. No, but just want to keep winning. That’s the goal. That’s the plan. As long as I’m in there, that’s my job. Rely on those guys on defense and our offensive line and receivers and play within the system and trust them and get the job done.”

Prescott went through on-field rehab for the second straight day, but he still has a splint protecting the thumb. While Rush will make his second straight start Monday against the New York Giants, Jones has not ruled out the possibility of Prescott returning Oct. 2 against the Washington Commanders.

For that to happen, Prescott would have to have a proper grip of the football, but Jones has said on numerous occasions there will be no worry about a potential re-break of the thumb because of the plate that was inserted at the joint.

Linebacker Micah Parsons missed his second straight practice because of an illness, but the expectation is he will play against the Giants. The statuses of wide receiver Michael Gallup (knee), tight end Dalton Schultz (knee) and offensive tackle Jason Peters are still up in the air.