Cooper Rush has never played an NFL game without a Dallas Cowboys star on his helmet. That could change in 2025.
The longtime Cowboys backup inked a two-year, incentive-laden deal worth up to $12.2 million with the Baltimore Ravens this past week to reinforce the QB room behind Lamar Jackson.
"It kind of came out of nowhere, and [I] was super excited when my agent said the Ravens called," Rush told "The Lounge" podcast on the team's official website. "Obviously, from afar there in Dallas, you see the Ravens are a well-run, good organization. Obviously, tons of success, especially recently. So, I was like, wow, OK, this is sweet. It materialized, and here we are."
Stabilizing the backup quarterback position behind Jackson was a priority after turnover the past several seasons. Josh Johnson, a free agent, spent the 2024 season behind Jackson. It marked the first campaign in which the two-time MVP played all 17 games, including years when he sat out meaningless season finales.
Since Jackson took over as the primary starter, the Ravens are 4-9 in the regular season with backup quarterbacks and 0-1 in the postseason, per NFL Research. Tyler Huntley went 3-6 (0-1 in playoffs), Robert Griffin III went 1-1, Johnson went 0-1, and Anthony Brown went 0-1.
Rush went 9-5 as a starter in seven years with the Cowboys, including 4-4 last season. That experience should help navigate the waters if Jackson misses games again.
"It's really exciting to be on a good team," Rush said. "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."
Rush said the key to being a good backup is to prepare like you're the starter because, at any moment in a game, you could be tossed out of the frying pan into the fire.
"The name of the game is be ready," Rush said. "That's your job description, your number one job description, is be ready. And your goal, when you're called upon, you go win. That's the job. I feel like I can do a good job of when you have to be that guy, you can be that guy, and when you don't, you go back to that other role -- being an asset in the room while still preparing. I think just throughout the years, I've gotten better at that."
The hope for Baltimore is Rush stays on the sideline, maybe starting a Week 18 game after the season is already locked up. Hope is not a game plan in the NFL.
If Rush is thrust into action, the Ravens offense should certainly look different than the one helmed by Jackson. Still, Baltimore can be confident its new emergency option has experience taking over in a pinch.
