NFL

Is Garrett Gilbert of the Cowboys a Good Quarterback?

Disclosure
We publish independently audited information that meets our strong editorial guidelines. Be aware we may earn a commission if you purchase anything via links on our pages.
Garrett Gilbert, Dallas Cowboys

The injury to Dak Prescott has left the Dallas Cowboys scrambling like Lamar Jackson on a broken play. They completed the mission of shoring up their depth chart on Monday by plucking veteran Garrett Gilbert off the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns.

Gilbert has been in demand in the NFL for the past six years — even if he has seldom been in the huddle.

With Dak Prescott out, the Dallas Cowboys turn to Andy Dalton

RELATED: Andy Dalton May Have Saved the Dallas Cowboys Season With One Throw

Fifth-year Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was released from a Dallas hospital on Monday, less than a day after undergoing surgery to repair a compound fracture of his dislocated right ankle.

Prescott was injured during a run midway through the third quarter of the Cowboys’ Week 5 victory over the New York Giants. He went to the ground awkwardly while being taken down by Giants defensive back Logan Ryan midway through the third quarter.

Prescott is looking at between four and six months of recovery time, effectively ending his season. The Cowboys had applied the franchise tag before the season, and Prescott will become a free agent at the end of the year. He had made 69 consecutive starts for Dallas after winning the starting job in training camp as a rookie.

The Cowboys had signed former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the offseason in case there was a holdout if they couldn’t reach an agreement with Prescott on a new contract.

Dalton came in for Prescott on Sunday and will be Dallas’ starter for the remainder of the 2020 season. Dalton finished 9-for-11 for 111 yards as Dallas rallied to beat the Giants, 37-34.

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Ben DiNucci in April

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About New Dallas Cowboys Backup Quarterback Ben DiNucci

The injury to Dak Prescott moved everyone up a notch on the Dallas Cowboys’ depth chart at quarterback. Veteran Andy Dalton is the presumed starter for the remainder of the season.

The Cowboys’ new No. 2 signal-caller is Ben DiNucci. The former University of Pittsburgh and James Madison University quarterback came to the Cowboys as a seventh-round draft pick in April and beat out Clayton Thorson for the roster spot.

Multiple sources reported that the Cowboys finished their day by signing journeyman Garrett Gilbert, who played his college ball at the University of Texas and SMU. Gilbert, who had been on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad, can join the Cowboys after completing the six-day screening process put in place because of the pandemic.

Is Garrett Gilbert a good quarterback?

RELATED: Former Cowboys Pro Bowler Jason Hatcher Rips Into Dak Prescott’s Agent

It’s highly unlikely that Garrett Gilbert will dress for any games over the remainder of the season unless there is an injury to Andy Dalton or Ben DiNucci. Being the quarterback who watches from the sideline in civilian clothes is a familiar role for Gilbert.

Fans ask if Gilbert is a good quarterback. Six years after he entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick of the St. Louis Rams, no one knows for sure. The extent of his playing career has been three passes for the 2018 Carolina Panthers and another three last fall for the Cleveland Browns.

Gilbert, 29, was released by the Rams in 2014 and picked up by the New England Patriots the same year. He would later catch on with the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions before moving on to the Panthers and Browns.

The Browns waived him during training camp this summer and then brought him back to the practice squad.