Andy Dalton is the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, if healthy.
And when Dak Prescott is ready to return from a season-ending ankle injury, the job is his, with no plans to give in to the temptation of taking a quarterback in the draft, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday.
Jones said it would be “crazy” for the Cowboys to select a quarterback even if the team holds on to what is currently the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, based on standings through nine weeks of the regular season.
“Dak is our quarterback,” Jones said in a radio interview with 105.3 FM in Dallas on Tuesday.
On the same station Monday, Jones’ son and team vice president Stephen Jones said the Cowboys are planning to start Dalton, if he’s healthy coming out of this week’s bye.
“Obviously, Andy is our quarterback now that Dak is out for the year,” Stephen Jones said. “Certainly if he gets back and hopefully he’ll be passing his protocol in his concussion and be ready to go as far as the coronavirus is concerned. It’s our bye week, so, that really gives him a chance to get up to speed. So, we’ll just have to see what the next two weeks bring.”
The Cowboys are not practicing this week due to the Steelers, who played at Dallas on Sunday, experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19. Tight end Vance McDonald tested positive on Monday.
Dalton started two games following Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury. He suffered a concussion against the Washington Football Team and the Cowboys started rookie Ben DiNucci in a Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Garrett Gilbert started Sunday’s home defeat against the Steelers. The Steelers rallied for a 24-19 win on the momentum of a fourth-quarter Gilbert interception.
“He had a tough play there, trying to make a play for us,” Stephen Jones said. “I think he was going to throw it away. Overall, he gave us every opportunity to have success and win the game. He really played well.”
(Field Level Media)