Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy gave running back Rico Dowdle a ringing endorsement on Thursday, saying, "He's the lead back. Rico needs to touch the ball." Fellow backfield mate Ezekiel Elliott returned from a one-game absence for disciplinary reasons in the Week 10 blowout loss to the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles, with Dowdle seeing 12 carries for 53 yards and catching all three of his targets for three yards. The 26-year-old likely would have had a much better day had the Cowboys not fallen behind by a significant margin on the scoreboard. Zeke had six carries for 22 yards and lost a fumble. Dowdle played 52% of the offensive snaps compared to Elliott's 22%. Dowdle will continue to be Dallas' lead RB, but with quarterback Dak Prescott (shoulder) now done for the year, it makes Dowdle a lower-upside RB3/flex for fantasy managers.

New Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jonathan Mingo will make his team debut on Monday against Houston, according to Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports. The former second-round pick lasted fewer than two years with the Carolina Panthers, who shipped him and a seventh-round pick to Dallas for a fourth-rounder at the trade deadline. Mingo had 12 catches on 26 targets in nine games with the Panthers this year, keeping him well off the fantasy radar. Even with the change of scenery, it's difficult to envision Mingo making much of an impact on a Cowboys offense playing without quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring) for the rest of the season.

The Dallas Cowboys have signed quarterback Will Grier to their practice squad on Tuesday. Grier was recently cut off the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad, but it didn't take him long to find a new home. He figures to join the team as depth with Dak Prescott (hamstring) done for the season. The former third-round pick has done very little since being drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2019. He played in two games as a rookie and hasn't done anything since then. Grier is likely brought in as depth in case Cooper Rush or Trey Lance suffer an injury at some point. The 29-year-old figures to remain on the practice squad going forward.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring) is scheduled to have season-ending surgery on his injured hamstring on Wednesday, according to owner Jerry Jones. Even if Prescott didn't have surgery, it was unlikely that he was going to be able to make it back this season after suffering an avulsion hamstring tear in the Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. For now, the Cowboys will move forward with Cooper Rush under center, but if he continues to play as bad as he did in the Week 10 blowout loss to the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles, third-stringer Trey Lance could make some starts down the stretch as well. Prescott will now rest and rehab in hopes of returning for the 2025 season. The 31-year-old three-time Pro Bowler finishes his 2024 season with 1,978 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 286 pass attempts in eight games.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy announced on Monday that the team is sticking with Cooper Rush as their starting quarterback moving forward. It means that Rush will make a second straight start in Week 11 against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football with Dak Prescott (hamstring) most likely done for the rest of the season. The 30-year-old veteran was pretty dreadful in the 34-6 loss to the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10, going 13-for-23 passing for 45 yards while also losing two fumbles. The Cowboys had packages for backup Trey Lance and even had him replace Rush late in the game, but Lance will remain the backup for at least another week. Rush isn't anything more than a desperation QB2 in superflex leagues, and it almost seems like a matter of time before Lance is making starts to play out the string in a lost season for Dallas.