Dak Prescott sends emotional goodbye message to Dallas Cowboys star who quit team to join NFL rival after eight seasons
Dak Prescott shared a warm message to a long-time Dallas Cowboys teammate after he departed ahead of the 2025 season.
Cooper Rush, who has been with ‘America’s Team’ for most of the last eight NFL seasons, has signed a two-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.
He will play backup to Lamar Jackson, one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, and is expected to make at least $4.2million guaranteed.
Prescott and Rush have no doubt worked closely together in the last few years, and the Cowboys’ franchise star shared a message of thanks after news of his teammate’s departure was confirmed.
Three-time Pro Bowler Prescott re-shared a post on his Instagram story from an account that announced Rush’s move to the Ravens.
“Thank you brother,” he captioned his own message, adding a heart emoji.
In Baltimore, Rush, 31, will take over as Jackson’s primary backup from Josh Johnson, a 38-year-old journeyman who threw three passes in six games last season.
The Ravens haven’t needed to play their backup QBs much in recent years, as 2023 MVP Jackson hasn’t missed a game because of injury since the end of the 2022 season.
In the last six years, the team are 4-10, including the playoffs, when Jackson has not started at quarterback.
Rush, though, proved to be a valuable backup in Dallas, with a 9-5 record behind Prescott.
In 2024, he posted career highs in yards (1,844) and touchdowns (12), going 4-4 after the Cowboys starter was lost for the season when suffering a hamstring injury in Week 9.
While he’s not seen as a flashy quarterback, Rush is dependable and mostly avoids mistakes while on the field.
He threw five interceptions in the eight games he played last season.
After Rush started every game since Prescott’s injury, the Cowboys elected to go with Trey Lance in their Week 18 season finale against the Washington Commanders, and prevented him from hitting a play-time incentive for the year.
That decision could possibly have contributed to the 31-year-old’s exit from the team.
After signing with the Ravens, Rush noted that it’s ‘exciting to be on a good team’ for 2025, sharing his hopes for a playoff run.
“It kind of came out of nowhere, and (I) was super excited when my agent said the Ravens called,” he said.
“Obviously, from afar there in Dallas, you see the Ravens are a well-run, good organization.
“Tons of success, especially recently. So, I was like, wow, OK, this is sweet. It materialized, and here we are.
“It’s really exciting to be on a good team.”
Of being a backup quarterback, Rush added: “You get to 9-5, we had some good teams down there in Dallas, so you don’t have to play out of yourself.
“You can play within yourself, do your job, rely on your teammates, and I think you have a similar situation here.
“Really good offense. Just kind of go do your job, get the ball to the fast guys, let them work, and do whatever you need to do to go win.”
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