Cowboys Make Final Call on Trey Lance After Latest Loss

Getty Images

The Cowboys will continue to start Cooper Rush over Trey Lance at quarterback.

The Dallas Cowboys remain hesitant to give Trey Lance a chance in the starting role, even as their playoff hopes grow dim.

The Cowboys are coming off a tough 27-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, with a late special teams gaffe costing them the game. Cooper Rush did not have his best game, completing 16 of 31 passes for 183 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Rush has been serviceable as a replacement for the injured Dak Prescott, but some have still wondered why Lance hasn’t been given an opportunity, especially with Dallas sitting at 5-8.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones does not feel like it’s time to turn things over to Lance.

“I thought for the most part, I thought we did some good things out there, and I still believe [Cooper Rush] gives us our best chance,” Jones said during an interview on 105.3 The Fan. “Wins are important for us, very important for us. This is a young team. Cooper, we think, gives us our best chance. We want to look at everything about [Monday] night and make sure the tale of the tape, so to speak, keeps us in the same mode. But it’s very important to go down and beat Carolina for this team next year. We’ve got a lot of young players out here that we want to get that experience. And so you have to consider that when you consider, if you will, evaluating at such a critical position, quarterback.”

Cowboys Don’t Regret Trey Lance Trade

The Cowboys surprisingly made the trade for Lance in August of 2023, sending a fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the former No. 3 overall pick. But outside of preseason action, Lance has seen next to no action, attempting just six passes in a Dallas uniform. But the Cowboys’ front office does not regret making the deal.

“We’d do that again,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said in November on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “I mean, he’s a top-tier pick, a guy we had at the top. As you know, Dak was coming up for contract. We wanted to take a look at a good, young talent and didn’t feel like we could get anything, from a quality standpoint, like we could get with Trey. As it turns out, we ended up signing Dak long-term. Obviously, that puts a little less need, in terms of having to rush to do something with Trey. As a matter of fact, it makes it hard because Trey I’m sure is wanting to see what’s out there now that we have committed to Dak long-term, but I don’t regret that at all.”

The Cowboys declined Lance’s fifth-year option, and he is in the final year of his contract. With just four NFL starts under his belt, he’ll have to hope a team in free agency is willing to take a shot at the upside that got him drafted.

Dez Bryant Calls for Trey Lance to Get Shot With Cowboys

It’s not just the fans who want to see Lance get a shot. Former Cowboys star Dez Bryant also thinks its time.

“Trey Lance deserve a shot,” Bryant wrote on X.

Some reminded Bryant of Lance’s uneven preseason. He got the majority of reps but did little to impress or show the Cowboys that he could be the backup to Prescott entering the regular season.

He completed 73 of 113 pass attempts (64 percent) with 662 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and five interceptions — all coming in one game. He added 24 carries for 168 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.