Why the Giants Added Cooper Rush to An Already Crowded Quarterbacks Room

Cooper Rush has barely played in the NFL, yet he brings an intimate knowledge and understanding of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's offense to the Giants' quarterbacks room that head coach Joe Judge found difficult to pass up.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Cooper Rush has been in the NFL since 2017, but has only appeared in five games and has attempted three passes—all as a rookie—completing one for two yards in his three seasons with the Cowboys.

So why would the Giants, the only team to put in a waiver claim for the former Central Michigan signal-caller, double down by renegotiating Rush’s contract, which was entering the final year of the original three-year deal signed with the Cowboys and which would have cost just $645,000 against the cap? (The Giants gave Rush a one-year deal worth $1.25 million with a $100,000 signing bonus and $150,000 guaranteed.)

“When we see a good player out there, and we think he is someone that can be an asset to our team and come in here and compete, that’s all we’re considering,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters via a teleconference Wednesday.

“He was someone that came across the waiver wire that we had known about, and some had experience with him. We thought it would be a positive move for our team.”

It’s certainly not hard to see why the Giants viewed the acquisition of Rush, waived after the Cowboys signed Andy Dalton to a one-year deal as a positive move. 

The connection between Rush and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett looms large, especially considering the virtual nature of the off-season where coaches must rely on players being able to recite their understanding of what they're being taught rather than witnessing how well the players have grasped the concepts.

Rush’s familiarity with Garrett’s system is going to be invaluable to the Giants quarterback room, and especially to second-year starter Daniel Jones, who has to learn his second system since turning pro, one that Judge said won’t be a carryover from last year.

The addition of Rush gives the Giants five quarterbacks that, in addition to Jones, includes free-agent signee Colt McCoy, holdover Alex Tanney and undrafted rookie free agent hopeful Case Cookus out of Northern Arizona.

“You can have 90 quarterbacks right now because you don’t have to worry about throwing to anybody,” Judge said of the unusually high number of quarterbacks currently on the Giants 90-man training camp roster.

“We’ll address that as we get closer to camp in terms of all the positions. We obviously have a template like everybody else has of the desired numbers at each position.”

For now, Judge and the Giants are all about adding players they think can help the team, and they’ll worry about the numbers later.

“I think the overriding factor is you don’t want to turn away a good player just to suit the numbers. You kind of structure practice accordingly to make sure there are as many good players on your roster as there possibly could be.”