_(cropped).jpg) Rush with theDallas Cowboys in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 3 –Baltimore Ravens | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1993-11-21)November 21, 1993 (age 31) Charlotte, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Lansing Catholic (Lansing, Michigan) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Central Michigan (2012–2016) | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2017 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Cooper Robert Rush (born November 21, 1993) is an American professionalfootballquarterback for theBaltimore Ravens of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theCentral Michigan Chippewas, and was signed by theDallas Cowboys as anundrafted free agent in 2017.
Originally fromCharlotte, Michigan, Rush attendedLansing Catholic High School inLansing, Michigan, with an enrollment of just over 500 students, where he became a three-year starter atquarterback for thefootball team.[1] Rush also playedbasketball andbaseball (until his freshman year).
In 2010 and 2011, Rush led his team to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. In 2011, Rush led his team to the state runner-up title. In the Division 5 regional championship game against Dowagiac Union High School, he set Michigan state records with fivetouchdown passes in one quarter and eight for the game. The team would end up losing in the finals againstPowers Catholic High School 56–26, even though he registered 300 passing yards and three touchdowns.
As a senior, Rush received All-State,Associated Press' Michigan Division 5/6 Player of the Year andESPN's MichiganGatorade Player of the Year honors.
Rush finished his high school career throwing for 7,248 passing yards (455-for-734, 62 percent), 80 passing touchdowns, 1,438 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns.[2] A three-star recruit, Rush only received scholarship offers fromCentral Michigan andToledo, but received preferredwalk-on offers fromMichigan,Michigan State,Northwestern, andWestern Michigan.[3]
In hisredshirt season at Central Michigan, Rush was named the school'sScout Team Player of the Year.
As a freshman, although he began the season as the third-string quarterback, Rush was named the starter by the third game, after Cody Kater was injured (collarbone fracture) and his backup Alex Niznak could not move the offense against theNew Hampshire Wildcats. In that contest, Rush came in the second quarter and helped engineer a 24–21 comeback victory, where he tallied 326 passing yards and three touchdowns, tying the school record for the longest in history (97 yards).[4] Rush would never relinquish the position or miss a start after the game.
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As a sophomore, Rush played in the2014 Bahamas Bowl against theWestern Kentucky Hilltoppers. By the middle of the third quarter, his team had fallen behind 49–14, but scored four unanswered touchdowns and were down by only seven points near the end of the fourth quarter. With one second remaining on the contest, Central Michigan had the ball on their own 25 yard line. The would-be final play started with a 45-yardHail Mary pass from Rush towide receiver Jesse Kroll. As Kroll was being tackled he lateraled the ball to teammate Deon Butler, who ran 20 yards before lateraling to Courtney Williams. With no space to run, Williams made a quick third lateral pass to leading receiverTitus Davis who ran the final 13 yards, scoring a touchdown that would have tied the game with a kicked extra point and sent the game intoovertime, but instead Central Michigan attempted atwo-point conversion for the win, which was unsuccessful.[5][6] Had the try succeeded, it would have marked the largest comeback in bowl history and tied the largest comeback in any Division I game. Rush's seven touchdown passes set an all-time record for allbowl games.[7]
Rush's best season came as a junior in 2015. Through the first 13 games, he had 3,703 passing yards, which was a new school single-season record.[8] Rush completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 3,848 total passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11interceptions.[9]
As a senior, Rush's production dropped to 3,540 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, but with 16 interceptions and a low 59.8 completion percentage.[10] Against theOklahoma State Cowboys, the game sparked controversy after the officials made an incorrect call that would eventually give Central Michigan the win. Oklahoma State threw the ball away to end the game and received a penalty for intentional grounding. Under college football rules, the game would have ended and Oklahoma State would have won the game. However, the officials gave Central Michigan an untimed down, and Rush threw a 51-yard Hail Mary pass to Kroll, who made a lateral to fellow receiver Corey Willis at the 12-yard line, running for a touchdown with no time remaining for a 30–27 victory.[11][12] The team lost 55–10 to theTulsa Golden Hurricane in the2016 Miami Beach Bowl at the end of the season.[13]
Rush finished his college career with 49 straight starts, 12,894 passing yards (12 yards short ofDan LeFevour's school and conference record) and 90 touchdowns.[14]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | INT | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2012 | Central Michigan |  Redshirt | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Central Michigan | 11 | 10 | 5–5 | 177 | 312 | 56.7 | 2,349 | 7.5 | 15 | 15 | 126.2 | 38 | -84 | -2.2 | 1 |
| 2014 | Central Michigan | 13 | 13 | 7–6 | 243 | 382 | 63.6 | 3,157 | 8.3 | 27 | 13 | 149.6 | 46 | -51 | -1.1 | 0 |
| 2015 | Central Michigan | 13 | 13 | 7–6 | 324 | 489 | 66.3 | 3,848 | 7.9 | 25 | 11 | 144.7 | 63 | 48 | 0.8 | 3 |
| 2016 | Central Michigan | 13 | 13 | 6–7 | 278 | 465 | 59.8 | 3,540 | 7.6 | 23 | 16 | 133.2 | 68 | -21 | -0.3 | 1 |
| Career | 50 | 49 | 25–24 | 1,022 | 1,648 | 62.0 | 12,894 | 7.8 | 90 | 55 | 139.1 | 215 | -108 | -0.5 | 5 | |
Coming out of Central Michigan, Rush was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts to be a seventh round pick or a priority undraftedfree agent. On December 6, 2016, it was announced that Rush had accepted his invitation to theEast–West Shrine Game. On January 21, 2017, Rush performed in theEast–West Shrine Game for the East and completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 97 yards in a 10–3 loss to the West.
Rush received an invitation to theNFL Combine and performed almost all of the required drills except for the bench press. He had an underwhelming lackluster performance and had some of the lowest marks at the combine.[15] On March 20, 2017, Rush participated at Central Michigan'spro day and chose to attempt thevertical jump,broad jump,short shuttle, andthree-cone drill once again. He gave a slower time in the three-cone drill (7.28), but was able to have better results in the vertical (30"), broad (8'11"), and short shuttle (4.46). Rush was ranked the 14th best quarterback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[16]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 228 lb (103 kg) | 32+3⁄8 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.93 s | 1.72 s | 2.89 s | 4.47 s | 7.23 s | 27 in (0.69 m) | 8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[17] | ||||||||||||
Rush was signed as anundrafted free agent by theDallas Cowboys after the2017 NFL draft on May 12.[18] As a rookie, he initially competed withZac Dysert intraining camp for the job as the third-string quarterback. After Dysert suffered aherniated disc, the Cowboys signedLuke McCown to replace him on the roster.[19]
Following multiple productive preseason performances in theHall of Fame Game and the next two contests, Rush began to share second-team reps in practice with backup quarterbackKellen Moore before the preseason game against theOakland Raiders. During the contest, Rush was given most of the time with the second-team offense and completed 12-of-13 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–20 comeback victory. He finished the preseason with a total of 38 pass completions out of 51 attempts, 398 passing yards, and six touchdown passes with no interceptions.[20] Head coachJason Garrett named Rush the Cowboys' third quarterback on their depth chart, behindDak Prescott and Moore.[21] Rush did not dress for the first five games and was a healthy scratch.
Rush was promoted to second-string for the sixth game of the season, with Moore being released and signed to the Cowboys'practice squad.[22] During a Week 7 40–10 road victory over theSan Francisco 49ers, Rush made his NFL debut. Rush appeared late in the game in relief of Prescott, completing one-of-three passes for two yards while also rushing twice for 13 yards.[23]
In 2018, Rush was the backup at quarterback from the start of organized team activities, as he never received any strong competition from rookieMike White. Rush only played in Week 6 against theJacksonville Jaguars, closing out a 40–7 victory in the fourth quarter, where he only handed the ball to therunning backs.[24]
In 2019, Rush was not challenged for the backup quarterback role, so the Cowboys decided to keep only two quarterbacks on the roster, releasing White at the end of the preseason. Rush only played in the season-opener against theNew York Giants and in Week 15 against theLos Angeles Rams. He did not have any pass attempts while closing out the two wins in the fourth quarter.[25]
On March 18, 2020, Rush re-signed with the Cowboys on a one-yearrestricted free agent tender.[26] On May 4, he was waived by the Cowboys after the team signed formerCincinnati Bengals quarterbackAndy Dalton and draftingBen DiNucci in the 7th round 231st overall.[27][28]
On May 5, 2020, Rush was claimed off waivers by theNew York Giants, reuniting with offensive coordinatorJason Garrett, who was his head coach with the Cowboys.[29] On September 5, Rush was waived and signed to the practice squad the next day.[30][31] On September 29, he was released from the practice squad to make room for another former Cowboys quarterback (Clayton Thorson).[32]
On October 31, 2020, Rush was signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad, to provide depth after starter Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury and backup quarterbackAndy Dalton was in concussion protocol.[33][34] Rush was elevated to the active roster on November 7 for the team's Week 9 matchup against thePittsburgh Steelers, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[35] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 4, 2021.[36] Rush beat outGarrett Gilbert andBen DiNucci to be the backup QB for Dallas in the 2021 NFL season.
Rush was named the starter for the Cowboys Week 8 game against theMinnesota Vikings after Prescott was out with a calf injury. It was Rush's first NFL start.[37] He threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, and led a comeback drive that he ended by throwing a touchdown toAmari Cooper in the final minute of a 20–16 road victory.[38]
On August 30, 2022, Rush was waived by the Cowboys and signed to the practice squad the next day.[39][40] He was signed to the active roster on September 17, 2022, to be the starter following an injury to Dak Prescott. Rush made his first start of the season during Week 2 against theCincinnati Bengals, where he threw for 235 yards and a touchdown in the 20–17 victory.[41]
In his second start of the season against the Giants in Week 3, Rush threw for 225 yards and a touchdown during a 23–16 road victory.[42] In the next game against theWashington Commanders, in his third straight start of the season, Rush completed 15-of-27 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 107.5 during the 25–10 victory.[43][44] With the victory, Rush became the first quarterback in franchise history to win his first four starts.[45] The following week against the Rams, Rush completed 10-of-16 passes for 102 yards in a 22–10 road victory. This was his fourth straight start and win during the season.[46] After four starts in the season, Rush had the fifth highestQBR in the NFL at 66.9.[47] During a Week 6 26–17 road loss to thePhiladelphia Eagles, he completed 18-of-38 passes for 181 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions.[48] Rush returned to the backup role when Prescott returned in Week 7.
On March 17, 2023, Rush re-signed with the Cowboys on a two-year contract worth $6 million.[49] He appeared in seven games, completing 18 of 24 passes for 144 yards, throwing no touchdowns and one interception.[50]
Rush was selected as the backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott for the beginning of the 2024 season, beating outTrey Lance in preseason play.[51] Starting in Week 10, Rush took over as the starting quarterback after Prescott was sidelined with a hamstring injury.[52] Rush earned his first win of the season in Week 12 against theWashington Commanders, completing 24-of-32 passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns, and zero turnovers as the Cowboys won 34–26.[53] OnThanksgiving, Rush threw for 195 yards and a touchdown, extending the Cowboys' win streak against theNew York Giants to eight games as Dallas won 27–20.[54] In Week 15, he threw a career-high three touchdown passes in a 30–14 victory against theCarolina Panthers.[55] After starting every game since Prescott's injury, the Cowboys elected to start Trey Lance over Rush in the season finale against the Commanders. That switch prevented Rush from hitting a play-time incentive for the 2024 season.[56]
On March 18, 2025, Rush signed a two-year, $6.2 million deal that could be worth up to $12.2 million with theBaltimore Ravens.[57]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2017 | DAL | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 42.4 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | DAL | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | DAL | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | NYG | 0 | 0 | — | DNP | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | DAL | 5 | 1 | 1–0 | 30 | 47 | 63.8 | 422 | 9.0 | 73 | 3 | 1 | 105.1 | 9 | −8 | −0.9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | DAL | 9 | 5 | 4–1 | 94 | 162 | 58.0 | 1,051 | 6.5 | 46 | 5 | 3 | 80.0 | 9 | 6 | 0.7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 49 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | DAL | 7 | 0 | — | 18 | 24 | 75.0 | 144 | 6.0 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 72.2 | 12 | −5 | −0.4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | DAL | 12 | 8 | 4–4 | 187 | 308 | 60.7 | 1,844 | 6.0 | 64 | 12 | 5 | 83.8 | 26 | 18 | 0.7 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 95 | 9 | 3 |
| Career | 38 | 14 | 9–5 | 330 | 544 | 60.7 | 3,463 | 6.4 | 73 | 20 | 10 | 83.8 | 58 | 24 | 0.4 | 15 | 0 | 24 | 171 | 12 | 4 | |
Rush is married and has a daughter.[58]
Rush is 4-0 as a starter since taking over for an injured Prescott in Week 1's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's thrown for 839 yards and four touchdowns without an interception and is fifth in the NFL with a 66.9 QBR.
More specifically, Rush threw three interceptions. Additionally, Rush was 18 of 38 on the night for just 181 passing yards.
