Behind Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ QB2 Race Is No Joke

Dak Prescott is the Dallas starter and nobody doubts that.

He’s got the contract, he’s got the résumé and nobody inside the Cowboys’ building is seriously entertaining anything else. That’s settled. Move on.

Around Memorial Day is when we in the media start just making stuff up to talk about because, well, that’s what we do. Besides, there’s not an awful lot left to discuss before OTA’s and camp.

It’s going on all over the NFL right now. Being behind an established starter like Prescott is usually a revolving door.

Unless there’s a situation like Cleveland where Shedeur Sanders was the presumed backup and now may be kicked down is more of a shock-value headline because, well, that draws a reaction from daddy Deion and that’s always news.

What isn’t settled is who’s holding a clipboard behind him when the regular season starts. Dallas has two quarterbacks competing for that job and neither one has it locked up.

The second the Cowboys put pen to paper on Sam Howell’s free-agent deal, the backup race got real. Before that, Joe Milton III was simply the incumbent.

Now there’s actual competition and coach Brian Schottenheimer isn’t trying to spin it any other way — he’s called it an open battle between the two.

What June 1 OTAs Might Reveal

Nobody’s handing out the QB2 jersey at OTAs. That’s not how it works.

But when Dallas takes the practice field next Monday, there’ll be something worth reading about even if the competition stays tight.

Somebody gets the first reps. Somebody works more with the first and second units. It won’t be announced as a preference, but the snap count will say something regardless.

Then there’s the coaching staff’s language. Schottenheimer’s press conferences after practice will matter.

Coaches rarely come out and say who’s winning, but tone, word choice and emphasis reveal plenty if you’re paying attention.

If Milton handles the heavier workload early, it could mean the staff wants to squeeze more development out of a third-year player who’s still ironing out his mechanics.

If Howell takes the majority of the snaps, maybe that signals Dallas is already leaning toward the veteran with more starting experience. Either read has implications.

Still, don’t read too much into June.

Training camp when competition gets more physical and the stakes higher is where this thing actually gets decided.

Milton’s Strengths and His One Big Problem

There’s a logical reason Joe Milton remains in the conversation. He spent last season in this system backing up Prescott, so he’s not starting from scratch.

He already knows the playbook, the terminology and what Schottenheimer’s staff expects on a week-to-week basis.

For a backup quarterback, that kind of built-in familiarity is genuinely useful.

His physical tools are also hard to ignore. Milton has a cannon for an arm and enough athleticism to make something happen when a play breaks down. The upside is real.

The issue is that his accuracy hasn’t caught up to his arm talent yet.

According to Pro Football Reference, his on-target percentage last season would’ve placed him below more than 40 qualifying quarterbacks across the league.

For a guy trying to win a starting job, even a backup job, that’s a number that follows you into every conversation.

Why Howell Still Has a Real Shot

Sam Howell brings something Milton simply doesn’t have yet: meaningful starting experience.

He’s been under center for 18 NFL games, which means he’s felt real pressure, faced real defenses and had to make real decisions when things weren’t going his way.

During his 17-start run in 2023, Howell also showed he can push the ball down the field.

He ranked in the top ten in big-time throws that season per PFF — meaning he wasn’t just managing games, he was making plays.

The tradeoff? That same season he paced the entire NFL in turnover-worthy plays. He’s not a consisten passer.

When it works, it works. When it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. Dallas has to decide whether that boom-or-bust profile is something they can live with behind one of the league’s better starters.

Prescott’s not going anywhere and that’s not the story.

The story is that the Cowboys don’t know yet who their Plan B is. That question starts getting answered in less than a week.