With Cooper Rush heading to Baltimore, should the Cowboys consider re-signing Trey Lance to become the QB2 in Dallas?

Ahead of the NFL scouting combine late last month in Indianapolis, Dallas Cowboys EVP/CEO Stephen Jones said to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News that the Cowboys “think the world of Trey Lance” but did not expect him to return to the team.

However, fast-forward weeks later, the Cowboys might need to re-consider bringing back Lance for another season.

On Sunday, veteran quarterback Cooper Rush signed a two-year deal worth up to $12.2 million to be Lamar Jackson’s backup in Baltimore.

The Cowboys leaned on Rush for several years as Dak Prescott’s backup.

With Rush, there was a level of comfortability with him and Dallas knew that if Prescott got hurt, he could step in and start if needed.

Now, with Rush heading to Baltimore, the Cowboys don’t have that familiarity at the QB2 spot, which leads us back to Lance.

The Cowboys took a flyer on the former third-overall pick, trading a fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Lance in Aug. 2023.

The former North Dakota State spent the last two years as the QB3 learning from Rush and Prescott.

Lance did not see any time playing in 2023, but the Cowboys wanted to get a closer look at him last preseason. The former 49ers quarterback showed some flashes, but still had room for improvement.

The young quarterback completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 662 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. He added 168 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The former North Dakota State standout didn’t see much playing time last season despite Prescott suffering a season-ending hamstring injury.

However, he started in the Cowboys’ regular season finale against the Washington Commanders.

Lance didn’t light the world on fire in Week 18, but completed 58.8 percent of his passes (20-of-34) for 244 yards and recorded 26 rushing yards.

That said, if you are the Cowboys and want someone who knows the system, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to re-sign Lance. He’s still young enough where you can still develop him into a quality QB2.

However, Dallas is likely also weighing the possibility of drafting a QB to be the QB2, with Will Grier being the QB3. Would a rookie quarterback be better than Lance? That’s hard to answer at this moment, but it’s a question the Cowboys must figure out.