Who Should I Start? Cooper Rush or Tyler Shough

Sunday, March 16, 12:16 PM

Former Dallas Cowboys free-agent quarterback Cooper Rush agreed on Sunday to a two-year deal worth up to $12.2 million with the Baltimore Ravens, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Rush now becomes the new backup to starter Lamar Jackson. The 31-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan debuted in the NFL in 2017 with the Dallas Cowboys and has spent all seven of his seasons in the league with Dallas. Rush saw his most run in 2024 after Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending torn hamstring. The veteran signal-caller played in 12 games (eight starts) and completed 60.7 percent of his 308 pass attempts for 1,844 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Rush has 3,463 career passing yards with 20 TDs and 10 interceptions in 38 games played (14 starts). He's unlikely to see the field much in Baltimore, with Jackson missing one game in the last two seasons.

Saturday, May 10, 1:01 PM

Now that quarterback Derek Carr (shoulder) has announced his retirement, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport writes that it sets the stage for rookie second-round quarterback Tyler Shough to be the team's eventual starter in 2025. Shough's stock for his rookie campaign was already rising with Carr's availability in question for 2025 due to a shoulder injury, but now Carr is out of the picture completely. The 25-year-old Shough will be competing primarily with Spencer Rattler, who completed just 57% of his passes while throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions in his rookie season in 2024. Even if the Saints give Shough a little more time to develop and name Rattler the starter for Week 1, it seems likely that Shough will be starting games in the Big Easy sooner than later in 2025. Shough is old for a rookie and has plenty of experience, making him the current favorite over Rattler for QB1 duties.