The Dallas Cowboys are shopping for a backup quarterback, and Paxton Lynch has been mentioned as a possibility, the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.
The Seahawks waived the former first-round pick Saturday. He had been vying with Geno Smith for Seattle’s backup job behind starter Russell Wilson. Lynch, the No. 26 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, spent his first two seasons in Denver but was released before the 2018 season. He did not play last year.
Cooper Rush has served as the backup QB to Dak Prescott the past two seasons, and has seen limited action, throwing only three passes in three games. The report seems to suggest Dallas would prefer a more experienced backup. Yet Lynch has appeared in only five career games, completing 79-of-128 passes with four TDs and four interceptions. Like Rush, he's 25 years old.
Rush beat out Mike White, the team's 2018 fifth-round pick from Western Kentucky, for the backup role this season. The team carried both Rush and White on the roster last year, but the Cowboys waived White Saturday.
Head coach Jason Garrett praised Rush after the team's third preseason game.
“He understands the importance of the mental approach of playing the quarterback position and he is really, really well prepared,” Garrett said (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). “There aren’t many situations that surprise him because he prepares so well. Now, as he gets more experience, he’ll become more and more comfortable in those situations and be able to take advantage of them."