Dalton lands on COVID-19 list; Gilbert or Rush reportedly to start vs. Steelers
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton will be placed on the COVID-19 reserve and miss Week 9 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced.
The Cowboys added that Dalton will likely be out for 14 days.
Dallas will turn to either Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush in Week 9 after third-stringer Ben DiNucci's poor performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports.
Dalton sat out Week 8 with a concussion, leaving DiNucci to make his first career start in a loss to the Eagles.
The Cowboys are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, with all three losses coming on starts from Dalton or DiNucci. They'll take on a Steelers team that has won its first seven contests.
Both Cowboys quarterbacks have struggled to move the offense when they've been in the game. The quarterback carousel in Dallas began spinning when Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5.
QB comparison: Dalton vs. DiNucci
| Games* | Yards | TD/INT | Sacks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Dalton | 3 | 452 | 1/3 | 7 |
| Ben DiNucci | 2 | 219 | 0/0 | 7 |
*Excludes one appearance for each quarterback in which they attempted one or fewer passes.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning that DiNucci was overwhelmed in his inaugural start.
"I think that it was a lot for him," Jones told 105.3 The Fan. "I think we certainly, as a team, paid the price to have him come in and under those circumstances. And that's almost trite. It was frankly more than he could handle."