Cooper Rush, Cowboys
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Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A new target has emerged for the New York Jets in their search for a QB2.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed that longtime former Dallas Cowboys passer Cooper Rush “is in the mix.”
Rush, 32, entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He has been in the NFL for nine years. Eight of those nine years have been spent with America’s Team.
The Longtime Veteran QB Is Suddenly Available
While Rush has spent the majority of his career with the Cowboys, he was most recently with the Baltimore Ravens.
Last offseason, he signed a two-year deal with a maximum value of $12.2 million to be Lamar Jackson’s backup.
He appeared in four games and started in two of them during the 2025 campaign. Rush completed 65.4% of his passes, threw for 303 passing yards, and had zero passing touchdowns to four interceptions.
After that disappointing season, he was released by Baltimore on March 12.
A Ton of Cowboys Success on His Resume
Things didn’t go great with the Ravens, candidly. However, he had a lot of success during his career with the Cowboys.
The former Central Michigan product was with Dallas in two stints: 2017 through 2019, a brief stint with the New York Giants, and then he returned from 2020 through 2024.
During his run with the Cowboys, Rush appeared in 38 games and made 14 starts. With those opportunities, Rush completed 60.7% of his passes, threw for 3,463 passing yards, and had 20 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Rush also found a way to win games when he was operating as the QB1 in Big D. According to Pro Football Reference, Rush had a 9-5 record as a starting quarterback for the Cowboys.
Jets Have Their QB1, Now They Need to Find a QB2
The Jets’ plan this offseason was to find a QB1. They accomplished that after trading for veteran Geno Smith in a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s been a wild journey for Smith. He started his career with the Jets as the No. 39 overall pick in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. Now the once-promised prince has returned in 2026.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed on social media that if Smith starts in Week 1 for the Jets this upcoming season, “it would be the 3rd-longest span between QB starts for a franchise since QB starts were first tracked in 1950.”
The only two quarterbacks who had longer times between starts were Matt Schaub (5,131) with the Atlanta Falcons and Chris Chandler (3,647) with the Los Angeles Rams.
Rich Cimini
Here’s an interesting historical nugget on Geno Smith’s return (via ESPN Research):
If he starts in Week 1 for the Jets, it would be the 3rd-longest span between QB starts for a franchise since QB starts were first tracked in 1950. #Jets
Smith is expected to start for the Jets ahead of the 2026 season.
“If Smith starts for the Jets, it will be the longest gap between starts with the team that drafted him by a quarterback selected in the first and second round, per Elias Sports. The current gap belongs to Boomer Esiason, who went five years between starts with the Cincinnati Bengals (1992-1997),” Cimini wrote.
Now the Jets need to find a capable backup to fill in behind Smith. Hughes said the Jets “will add another quarterback,” but that nothing was “imminent” as of publication of his column.