OXNARD, Calif. – "Compete every day" has been Brian Schottenheimer's mantra throughout his tenure as the Cowboys head coach. And he doesn't plan on changing it.
That goes for his quarterback room too, which features Joe Milton and Will Grier behind Dak Prescott. When the Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick to New England for Milton, many assumed that he would be the backup given Cooper Rush's departure to Baltimore in free agency.
While that very well still could be the case, one offseason and a preseason game isn't enough of a sample size just yet for Schottenheimer and the Cowboys to decide on a backup quarterback, even though Milton has been getting a majority of the reps.
Why do we have to decide that today? We don't have to decide that today…" Schottenheimer said when asked if Milton was the team's backup quarterback.
"We're going to let these guys all compete, and it's not a negative against Will Grier that he's not getting the reps. I've been around Will Grier for a couple years now. We know who Will Grier is. We are not surprised when he goes in and does that. It's figuring out more of Joe Milton, it's the unknown more than the competition."
If that's the case, how does Schottenheimer go about balancing who gets the reps?
"You balance it by saying we want to find out more about Joe Milton. There's a ton of talent, there's a bunch of things that we see from Joe Milton. You saw Joe needs the reps, you saw the way he started the game, you saw the way there was a little bit of struggle for us early on…" Schottenheimer said.
"I need to get to learn him as the play caller. I don't need to learn Dak. I feel like I don't really need to learn Will. So it's more of that, it's more of me having to learn Joe. I'm not going to say who the backup running back is right now, who the backup quarterback is right now, because I don't have to make those decisions yet."
Schottenheimer isn't rushing the decision because since the beginning with Milton, getting him these reps has been the Cowboys' plan.
"I think our plan all along has been that we need to find out about Joe Milton," Schottenheimer said. "Under no circumstance am I panicked or worried about Joe Milton. Joe Milton played really well in the second half, he did some really good things. He calmed down, he figured it out.
After leaving Saturday's game in the fourth quarter with an injury, Will Grier entered the game and scored a rushing touchdown for the Cowboys' offense. It was the second example that week of Grier showing Schottenheimer and the staff what they already know about him.
"I'd be crazy if I didn't say to you how impressed I am with Will Grier…" Schottenheimer said. "All the guy does is win given opportunities. We communicate very clearly with our players. The scrimmage against the Rams, we told [Grier], 'Hey man, why don't you drink some water and hang out?'"
"And the next thing you know, he's in the game, and did a great job. Same thing in this game, Will wasn't planning on playing very much if at all. And next thing you know, he's got to go in, a couple shoulder shrugs and away he goes."
The backup quarterback decision doesn't need to happen right now. But the Cowboys don't have a lot of training camp practices left and just two preseason games before opening the season on September 4 against the Eagles. Sure, Milton wouldn't be thrust into a playing situation unless Dak Prescott gets injured, but who knows if the Cowboys will need to count on him to win them a game at some point? Could Will Grier give the Cowboys a better chance right now if needed?
Those are all hypothetical questions that the Cowboys certainly hope they won't have to answer in 2025. Nonetheless, the team needs to be prepared for any situation, which makes the coming two weeks and preseason games crucial for both Milton and Grier.
