Dallas Cowboys legend and NFL Hall of Famer Drew Pearson is calling on his old team to sign a notable veteran free agent quarterback, or two, to mitigate the loss of Dak Prescott.
Prescott fractured his right thumb in the Cowboys’ 19-3 season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is expected to miss at least a month.
“They gotta pull out all stops,” Pearson told TMZ Sports. “Call Cam, call Kaepernick, call anybody out there!”
“I threw three touchdowns in the NFL – call me,” Pearson continued. “But we got to have somebody there with experience, some game experience. I’m not talking about coming in and mopping up for somebody after the game is already won or already lost. I’m talking about somebody that’s been there. Been in the big time, knows how to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League.”
Colin Kaepernick helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl in the 2012 season. However, he is now in his mid-30s and has not played in the NFL since 2016.
Cam Newton earned the league’s MVP award for the 2015 season, in which he led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl. He has made three Pro Bowls in his career but has struggled in recent years, though an argument could be made that Newton as a runner could be as much of a threat to opposing defenses as Cooper Rush as a passer.
The Cowboys will likely start Rush against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2 with Will Grier as the backup.
Rush has one start in his NFL career. It came last season in a 20-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings, with Rush going 24-for-40 with 325 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and an interception.
It is relevant to note that reports indicate the Cowboys are looking to add another quarterback to the team. However, it appears Dallas wants to add a No.3 quarterback to be behind Rush and Grier on the depth chart, not a potential starter, according to CowboysSI.com.
Despite his call to bring in a veteran quarterback, Pearson urged the Cowboys to rally around Rush, saying the players around him would need to step up.
“What they gotta do is rally around Cooper Rush. All you did was take Dak out of the offense and put Cooper Rush in there. All the other pieces are set, they’re there. They’re not the best pieces. I’m disappointed in the receivers. I’m disappointed in ‘double 8s,’ Ceedee, the way he played. But this is what’s left with the moves the Cowboys made and didn’t make,” he told TMZ Sports.
While one Cowboys legend is adding fuel to the rumors of Kaepernick coming to Dallas, another Dallas legend is dismissing the suggestion.
“Let’s stop with this Colin Kaepernick stuff. Let’s just stop. Colin Kaepernick’s been out of football for what five years now,” Cowboys legend and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin said on Monday’s edition of ESPN’s First Take, in response to Stephen A. Smith suggesting the Cowboys give Kaepernick a chance.
“Come on, man. Let’s stop all of a sudden thinking we can go resurrect Colin Kaepernick and he’s going to come and resurrect a football team,” Irvin said.
“I’ll take my chances with Cooper Rush,” Irvin added. “I saw Cooper Rush win a football game last year. That’s all I’m saying.”