Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance is ready to step into the starting job if called upon for Sunday's season finale against the Washington Commanders.

Lance told reporters he doesn't know who will get the nod in Week 18, but he "absolutely" believes in himself as an NFL starter:

The Cowboys are coming off a lopsided 41-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Cooper Rush, who has started in place of an injured Dak Prescott, went 15-of-28 for 147 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

The Cowboys have little to play for in Week 18. They're out of the playoff race and they can't even play the spoiler role since the Commanders are locked in as a Wild Card team.

Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy indicated he's open to a QB change and giving somebody else a shot to start.

"I really like what Cooper has done and I think we all have to recognize the job he's done to this point," he said Monday. "But this is the time where you do think about—not just the quarterback position, but all the positions—making sure we do have information on our younger players. Frankly, we probably have a lot based on how much [the non-quarterbacks] have played."

If McCarthy does bench Rush, a lot of fans will read into whether Lance or Will Grier, who's on the practice squad, gets the call.

In bypassing Lance, the coach would be saying a lot in how he views the 2021 first-round pick.

Grier hasn't started an NFL game since 2019, and his two appearances saw him throw for 228 yards and four interceptions. You'd think Lance could beat him out in a head-to-head QB battle, and failing to do so would be a concerning sign.

In the event Lance is the choice, Week 18 would present an opportunity to provide a good lasting image before he hits free agency in the offseason. A strong performance could entice another team to sign him as a backup with a possible path to the starting job if the stars align.

Whereas the stakes for the Cowboys are low Sunday, Lance might have a lot on the line.

Ezekiel Elliot's return to the Dallas Cowboys reportedly won't extend to the 2025 season.

Per NFL insider Josina Anderson, the Cowboys are releasing Elliot ahead of their final game of the 2024 campaign. According to Anderson, Elliot requested to be released from the Cowboys.

Dallas, which has already been eliminated from the playoffs, will close out its season against the Washington Commanders on Sunday without Elliot in the backfield.

Elliot spent the first seven years of his career with the Cowboys before joining the New England Patriots in free agency ahead of the 2023 season. Elliot struggled in his sole season with the Patriots and returned to the Cowboys this year.

His reunion with the team that drafted him didn't go the way he would have liked as Elliot had the worst season of his career. He had just 226 yards and three touchdowns on 74 carries and totaled just 69 yards through the air on 12 receptions.

Amid his season of struggle, Elliot missed Dallas' Week 9 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons due to disciplinary reasons. He reportedly missed three team meetings and had a habit of tardiness in the weeks leading up to the suspension, Jane Slater of 105.3 The Fan reported at the time.

Elliot wasn't the focal point of Dallas' run game as fifth-year back Rico Dowdle had a breakout year with 1,007 yards and a touchdown on 213 carries along with 237 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Elliot's second stint with the Cowboys went much differently than his first when he posted four seasons with 1,000 or more rushing yards. Now, he'll look to either join a squad before the playoffs or start preparing for free agency this offseason.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered a vote of confidence to head coach Mike McCarthy after his team's record fell to 7-9 with a blowout Week 17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

"I think Mike's certainly got the kind of coaching background and coaching success that would make him a very qualified coach in the NFL, so all of that's there," Jones told Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "What I'm not going to do this morning is to get into any indication, one way or the other, that I'm not interested in having Mike back. I don't want that to be the case at all.

"We've got this game ahead of us, but I'll assure you that I have been, for weeks, thinking about how we go forward after this season."

Jones added: "I feel good about Mike McCarthy. The main thing is that I like the job that he's done. We've had the year that we've had, but I feel good about Mike."

The Cowboys headed into Sunday having won four of their last five games despite the absence of starting quarterback Dak Prescott, but struggled against the Eagles in a 41-7 defeat that left their rivals holding the NFC East title.

This isn't the first time Jones has expressed his confidence in McCarthy, whom he has praised multiple times this season in his regular appearances on 105.3 The Fan despite the Cowboys being eliminated from playoff contention before Week 16.

Jones said in November after Week 12 that it was "not crazy at all" to say he would consider extending McCarthy. He told the show after Week 14 that he would give McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer "high grades" for their work this season, and added after Week 16 that he was "proud" of his head coach.

McCarthy has led the Cowboys since 2020, but Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently reported that "virtually the entire coaching staff" in Dallas is working on expiring contracts this season.

That includes McCarthy and Zimmer as well as offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and special teams coach John Fassel, per ESPN's Todd Archer.

After the loss to the Eagles, McCarthy told reporters that the coaches' expiring contracts had contributed to what he called a "challenging year," per Archer.

"I think the future is bright and we have a lot of things in place here," McCarthy said on Monday, per Archer. "We need to take a step back after next week, and obviously a lot of decisions got to be made, a lot of business decisions got to be made because of our contract situation, and that's what we'll do."

Multiple NFL insiders have recently reported that other teams would be interested in hiring McCarthy if the Cowboys decide not to re-sign him.

That decision won't be made for at least another week. The Cowboys' coaching staff has one game remaining when the regular season wraps up next Sunday with a Week 18 game against the Washington Commanders.

The playoffs are out of reach for the Cowboys for the first time since 2020, while the Commanders locked up their own berth on Sunday. A win over longtime rivals could still have long-term ramifications for Dallas by helping McCarthy and his staff make their pitches for extensions this offseason.

The Dallas Cowboys have one more game remaining in a disappointing 2024 season, and head coach Mike McCarthy is focused on the task at hand even if his long-term status with the team is still up in the air.

"I do appreciate the opportunity to speak on it," he said when discussing his contract and the contracts of his assistant coaches running out after this season, per ESPN's Todd Archer. "I've answered this question the same for however many months now, so I think the focus, I need to make sure I'm doing exactly what I'm asking everyone else to do.

"We need to finish the race. It's been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches. It's stating the obvious, but we'll have time to talk about that next week."

The 7-9 Cowboys face the Washington Commanders on Sunday and will be watching the playoffs from home.

That is a stark contrast to each of the last three years under McCarthy when the NFC East team finished with a 12-5 record and reached the postseason. However, the Cowboys went a combined 1-3 in those three playoff trips and never advanced past the Divisional Round.

Questions about the overall playoff ceiling under McCarthy were loud coming into the 2024 campaign and likely why he hadn't yet received a contract extension, but it became clear Dallas wasn't making the playoffs this year as it continued to deal with injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott and others.

Yet, as Archer noted, players such as Prescott and Micah Parsons have advocated for McCarthy's return, which the coach appreciated.

"I think it's just a reflection of what we have here," he said. "Everybody talks about culture and I'm not up here to give a bunch of buzzwords, but we do things the right way. I can attest to that. I've done this long enough to have a strong opinion to how to run a program, what's best for the players. The players are coached. They're coached with detail.

"There's demand there. Accountability. So the basics are in place. But we're like any other program, we need to get better. There's a number of areas we need to improve on. but that's what the offseason is for. This is not the week to be getting into these discussions."

McCarthy is showing some of that accountability by focusing on the upcoming game against the Commanders and waiting until the offseason to talk about his contract status.

As Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy's contract nears its expiration, nearly the entire coaching staff will also see their contracts end, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

This means the Cowboys must renegotiate with most of the coaching staff to secure new deals for the 2025 season, requiring a significant reinvestment, per Breer.

The Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention last week by the Philadelphia Eagles, and with a 7-9 record, they are assured of their fourth losing season in the last 20 years.

Despite this, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys' ownership remain "impressed with the team's resilience," according to Breer.

With quarterback Dak Prescott voicing his support for McCarthy's return and Jones expressing his admiration for the team's resilience, it's possible the entire coaching staff could return next season.

"It's tough to probably get your job done and do your job with all that hanging over your head," Prescott said about McCarthy, per ESPN's Todd Archer. "But credit to him, credit to his professionalism and really his coach's style of being able to get guys being ready to play and go out there and finish and take pride in what we finish and what we put on tape."

The ninth-year Cowboys quarterback has been sidelined since Nov. 3 due to a right hamstring avulsion that required season-ending surgery. Since his absence, Dallas has gone 4-4. The veteran quarterback has made it clear that he wants McCarthy by his side when he returns next season.

"Obviously, I'm a promoter of bringing him back," Prescott said, per Archer.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty stacks up reasonably well against the other top ball-carriers drafted by NFL teams over the last decade in the eyes of ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.

Kiper ranked Jeanty sixth, ahead of Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne Jr. and Todd Gurley II, among others.

"At 5'9" and 215 pounds, Jeanty displays excellent contact balance, instincts and toughness, which help him skirt past the first line of defense and through traffic, Kiper wrote. "He has forced a nation-leading 111 missed tackles. Jeanty brings power going downhill, stays upright and runs through contact. He plays with determination, and arm tackle attempts aren't able to slow him down. And don't sleep on his receiving skills. Jeanty has sure hands out of the backfield and can be a true all-purpose back in the NFL."

Kiper went on to say Jeanty could come off the board as early as picks 10 through 15.

He cited the Dallas Cowboys as a possible fit since they seemingly lack a true game-changing running back. Rico Dowdle has run for 519 yards and one touchdown while averaging 5.1 yards per carry over Dallas' last five games, but the jury is still out on him as a No. 1 option.

Kiper also threw the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers into the mix for Jeanty. He went to the Vikings at No. 28 in Bleacher Report's last mock draft from November.

Anybody who has watched the NFL over the past few years is well aware of how much running backs have been devalued across the league, and that trend is often reflected in the draft. Five players at the position have been selected in the first round over the past five years.

Saquon Barkley's monster 2024 season with the Philadelphia Eagles is making a strong case for the pendulum to shift a little bit, though. Running backs may not influence games as much as quarterbacks, but a good one can go a long way for a contending team.

And Jeanty's production at Boise State speaks for itself. The Heisman Trophy runner-up has 2,497 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns through 13 games this year.

As Kiper pointed out, the Broncos may not have had the toughest schedule in college football, but Jeanty had to contend with the fact everyone knew he was the focal point of the offense. Despite that, he's still having a near-historic season.

Few would bat an eye if a team grabbed Jeanty on Day 1 of the 2025 draft.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is voicing his support for the possibility of head coach Mike McCarthy returning for the 2025 season.

"It's tough to probably get your job done and do your job with all that hanging over your head," Prescott said about McCarthy, per ESPN's Todd Archer. "But credit to him, credit to his professionalism and really his coach's style of being able to get guys being ready to play and go out there and finish and take pride in what we finish and what we put on tape."

The Cowboys' elimination from the playoffs came last week against the playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles and with a record of 7-9, they are guaranteed their fourth losing record in the last 20 seasons.

"Nobody plans to lose. Nobody plans to have a losing season, to be in this position," Prescott said, per Archer. "You expect the playoffs every year. You expect to win this division and then to be in this place or whether it's at home, playing against this team usually for the division. That's not the case. Yeah, it's frustrating."

Prescott has been sidelined since Nov. 3, when he suffered a right hamstring avulsion against the Atlanta Falcons that required season-ending surgery.

The official elimination from the postseason is not the first time McCarthy's job has been brought into question. Not even close.

The Cowboys faced an embarrassing 47-9 home loss against the Detroit Lions in Week 6, with early concerns about the status of McCarthy's job coming to light after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called the loss "very concerning" and "very humbling," according to The Athletic's Jon Machota.

Despite their 3-3 record at that point, Jones was "not considering" a coaching change, per Machota, despite pleas from fans.

The Cowboys will kick off their final game of the season against the Washington Commanders in what could possibly be McCarthy's final game with the Cowboys, as he is in the midst of his fifth losing season in his 18 years of coaching, per Archer.

His job status was notably not something he wanted to talk about.

"Ask me that in eight days," McCarthy said, per Archer. "I'm here to finish the race. That's my mindset and that's the team's mindset."

Having the support of his franchise quarterback is definitely a positive on his side.

"Obviously, I'm a promoter of bringing him back," Prescott said, per Archer.

Tensions flared toward the end of the Dallas Cowboys' 41-7 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, resulting in the ejections of multiple players.

Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Brooks and cornerback Troy Pride Jr. got into a scuffle with Eagles safety Sydney Brown that led to them being tossed from the game late in the fourth quarter:

Unfortunately, the Cowboys waited far too long to show any ounce of fight against the Eagles on Sunday.

Things got started on the wrong foot for Dallas when quarterback Cooper Rush threw a pick-six on the team's opening drive. Rush bounced back on the very next possession by throwing a touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert to tie the game, but that was the last bit of momentum for the Cowboys.

In the second quarter, Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to extend the lead. Pickett was starting in place of the injured Jalen Hurts, who sat out due to a concussion. Even after Pickett exited the game in the second half, 2023 sixth-round pick Tanner McKee took over and threw two touchdowns to put the game away.

The Cowboys finished with just 268 yards of total offense and committed a total of four turnovers with Rush throwing two interceptions and running back Rico Dowdle and tight end Jake Ferguson each losing fumbles.

Dallas had already been eliminated from the playoffs, but it was seeking a third straight win entering Sunday's game against Philadelphia. The Cowboys' momentum was completely halted by their NFC East rivals, ending the last bit of positivity they had as the 2024 season nears its end.

Dallas will take on the Washington Commanders in another division matchup in Week 18 to close out the year.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will reportedly receive interest from opposing teams if he isn't re-signed.

According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, the contracts of the entire Cowboys' coaching staff are set to expire at the end of the season.

"Mike McCarthy is actually on other teams' coaching lists if the Cowboys decide not to re-sign him," Glazer said on Sunday (1:10 mark).

ESPN's Adam Schefter noted on Sunday Countdown that McCarthy also has the opportunity to listen to offers from other teams before deciding to potentially remain in Dallas.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic previously reported that there's a "feeling around the league" that the head coach will be patrolling the sidelines with Dallas in 2025.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport revealed on Saturday that there have been "no substantive talks" regarding a long-term deal between both sides, though.

The Cowboys' 2024 season has been marred by injuries. The list of key players to miss multiple games includes Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, Trevon Diggs and Zack Martin.

CeeDee Lamb has also been ruled out of Dallas' final two regular-season contests due to a shoulder injury.

Prescott started under center in the first eight games of the year before he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn hamstring.

Dallas continued to struggle with backup Cooper Rush, sitting at 3-7 through Week 11.

McCarthy's team has rallied since, winning four of its next five games to climb to 7-8 on the season. While Dallas still won't be competing for a playoff start, it's an impressive stretch that includes victories over teams with postseason aspirations such as the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Over the Cowboys' past five games, they're averaging 27.4 points each week. For the entire season, only seven teams currently own a higher scoring average.

McCarthy's success with Rush could entice Dallas to re-sign him following the 2024 season, but it could also draw the attention of opposing teams searching for a new head coach.