FRISCO - No, in the end, you probably can't have it all.
But you can try for it all.
The Dallas Cowboys are being extremely open about their general plan at quarterback, having made their huge commitment to Dak Prescott while this week at the NFL Scouting Combine announcing tentative goodbyes to backups Cooper Rush and Trey Lance.
But there's something being announced by Cowboys COO Stephen Jones that has our 35-year beat writer Mike Fisher "a bit bothered,'' as Fish puts it.
Here's Jones on second-stringer Rush ...
"You know how much we think of Cooper. We just don't know what he's going to cost. When we're paying Dak what we're paying him, unfortunately we do have to go cheap there."
The insider Fish's reaction?
"I'm a bit bothered by Stephen tying Prescott's $60 million per year salary into a conversation about Rush ... Rush is coming off having signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Cowboys in 2023 and as he enters free agency, some sort of a raise to retain him makes sense.
"But here's Stephen making it sound like it can't be done ... and even more bothersome, making it sound like he doesn't even have an education guess as to what the market will allow for Rush.''
But now we know - no guessing.
The Baltimore Ravens and Rush have agreed to a 2-year contract worth up to $12.2 million ... a number that absolutely blows away what Dallas was ever going to pay.
After all, both sides felt very good two years ago when Rush stayed here on a two-year, $5 million deal.
Fish's point wasn't that Rush is a "must-keep''; Maybe Will Grier, back on the Dallas roster, is that guy who moves up to the No. 2 spot should Rush depart in free agency.
No, Fish's point was that Rush - and his coming contract - should be a "must-know'' ... and that it's a premature mistake, and a major mistake, for Stephen and the Cowboys to assume that Rush can't be retained.
Meanwhile, there is nothing wrong with the idea of drafting a prospect, as Stephen says Dallas plans to do.
"One of our goals is to get a young quarterback in the draft," Jones said. "I don't know where that's going to be. ...''
It's OK to not know that at this early stage. Late April is a ways off.
But to not know the value of Cooper Rush? Well, if Dallas didn't know before ... it knows now.
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This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 12:07 PM.