Dallas Cowboys

Even though Cooper Rush has killed it as the fill-in QB1 for the Cowboys ... Dallas legend Daryl "Moose" Johnston tells TMZ Sports Dak Prescott ain't in danger of being supplanted.

"I'm a believer that you don't lose your job due to an injury -- especially if you were one of the starters, one of the best players at your position in the NFL," Johnston told us this week.

"It's going to be hard for Cooper Rush to create that type of controversy."

Of course, many believe that situation has already arrived -- as Rush has been great the past two weeks while Prescott has been out with a thumb injury.

Rush is 2-0 in his two starts, putting up QB ratings of 95.5 against the Bengals and 98.2 against the Giants -- leading some to think he's already done enough to keep Dak on the shelf even after the Week 1 starter gets healthy.

But Johnston told us he doesn't see that happening at all ... explaining he thinks this is an entirely different situation than the one Dak had back in 2016, when he formally took over for an injured Tony Romo.

The former Cowboys fullback, though, believes Rush -- an impending free agent -- has made some money for himself regardless ... showing he can be one of the premier backup QBs in the league going forward.

Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar -- who was picked in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft -- has died ... after an apparent rock climbing accident in California.

He was just 31 years old.

Officials say they received a report of two injured rock climbers at Tahquitz Rock in Idyllwild at around 12:25 PM on Wednesday. When they made it to the scene, they say they found that both victims had died. Escobar was ID'ed as one of the hikers -- a 33-year-old woman, Chelsea Walsh, was ID'ed as the other.

Further details surrounding the causes of death were not immediately available. Authorities did say they were investigating it all.

Escobar was a star for San Diego State from 2010 to 2013 ... before he was drafted by the Cowboys. He went on to play four seasons in Dallas -- piling up eight touchdowns.

He later saw time with the Chiefs, Browns, Ravens and Dolphins -- and eventually wrapped up his football career in 2019 in the Alliance of American Football league.

In retirement, Escobar -- a father of two -- had become a firefighter with the Long Beach Fire Department.

The Cowboys, Aztecs and the LBFD all paid homage to Escobar and his family on Thursday night.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gavin's family," SDSU football head coach Brady Hoke said in a statement. "I know his wife, Sarah, and daughters, Josey and Charlotte, were everything to him. Gavin was a great man, father, son and teammate, and will be deeply missed by all."

Former Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr -- who famously signed a five-year, $50 MILLION contract with Dallas back in 2012 -- was arrested for DWI on Thursday, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Collin County Sheriff's Office tells us Carr was arrested at around 2:30 AM on Thursday morning. He bonded out at around 5:30 PM later in the day.

Further details surrounding the arrest were not immediately available.

Carr was a solid starter in the NFL for over a decade. He was initially picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2008 draft ... and eventually left the team for Dallas four years later.

He played for the Cowboys for six seasons -- tallying seven interceptions and 80 starts for America's Team.

He went on to play for the Baltimore Ravens for three seasons, before finishing his career back with the Cowboys in 2020.

The 36-year-old ultimately played in 195 games in his NFL career.

"Call Cam. Call Kaepernick. Call anybody out there!"

Drew Pearson tells TMZ Sports the Cowboys are in BIG trouble following Dak Prescott's thumb injury -- and they need to give Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick and any other veteran QBs out there a ring ASAP in order to potentially salvage this season.

Dallas lost its star signal-caller in the fourth quarter of the team's blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday night -- and after surgery on Monday, Prescott is expected to miss the next six-to-eight games.

Drew tells us the blow is brutal ... and there's now really only one solution to fixing the problem -- get on the phone and acquire someone like Newton or Kaepernick.

"We got to have somebody there with some experience, some game experience," the legendary Dallas wide receiver said.

"I'm not talking about coming in and mopping up for somebody after the game's already won or already lost. I'm talking about somebody that's been there, been in the big time, knows how to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League."

For now, there's been no murmurs of potential free agent pickups for the Cowboys ... who appear to be poised to ride things out with backup Cooper Rush.

Pearson seemed to be upset with Dallas' front office over the situation -- sounding off on the team's brass for letting go of receivers Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson as well as offensive tackle La'el Collins this offseason.

"That's what I'm disappointed in is that the offseason didn't produce what we needed to produce to surround Dak with the protection and the receivers he needed," Pearson said.

Several Dallas Cowboys fans ganged up on a man during their game against the Buccaneers on Sunday night -- repeatedly punching the guy in the head before throwing him to the ground.

The wild altercation happened at some point during the Cowboys' loss to Tampa Bay at AT&T Stadium ... when several people wearing Dallas jerseys began heaving haymakers at a man wearing a black and yellow shirt.

It's unclear what started the brawl -- but video from the scene shows at least four people, including one woman, whaled on the guy before security stepped in to halt the action.

We've reached out to police to see if any arrests were made, but so far, no word back yet.

Fighting was seemingly commonplace at NFL games during the league's opening weekend -- because in the Falcons vs. Saints contest in Atlanta, one New Orleans fan threw a flurry of punches at a guy's face in the concourse.

The series of swings all appeared to land flush -- and it eventually led to a huge fracas in one of the corridors at the stadium. It's unclear here, too, if anyone was arrested over the commotion.

Meanwhile, in the Raiders vs. Chargers game, a fight got so out of hand, a woman was actually socked in the face.

NFL officials have yet to publicly comment on all the violence in the stands at games.

Jerry Jones is very, very fortunate to have walked away from his May car crash without serious injuries -- because the Dallas Cowboys owner admitted to cops in the aftermath of the accident that he was NOT wearing his seat belt, according to new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports.

The footage -- which was blurred by police -- shows Jones told at least two officers that he was not buckled in when he T-boned a Hyundai on May 4 in Dallas, Texas.

Jones also told cops he was going around 45 MPH in his 2013 Lexus at the time of the wreck -- and that his airbags did deploy -- making it even more astounding that he came away from it all relatively unscathed.

"You had it buckled behind you but you weren't wearing it," one cop can be heard telling Jones of his seat belt in the clip.

"That is correct," Jones responded. "That is correct."

Jones did tell an officer at a local hospital that he suffered a "head bump, chest bump, [and] knee bump" in the accident ... but he was "not in any pain now."

He was ultimately discharged ... and ended up having no lingering effects from the accident.

Jones implied during the police video that the other driver was at fault -- saying to one cop, "He just U-ed. He just simply U-ed right in front of me."

Jones added, "I hit him broadside. I'm so happy he's not hurt."

Cops eventually cleared Jones of any wrongdoing in the case.

As for going forward, one officer stressed to Jones in the video to make sure he wears his seat belt from now on.

"The only thing I'm going to ask you to do," the cop said, "is put that seat belt on the right way."

Orlando Scandrick -- the longtime Dallas Cowboys corner who played in the NFL for 11 years -- says he's got no issues whatsoever with Tom Brady's mid-training camp break ... telling TMZ Sports he'd have the QB's back if he was in the Bucs locker room.

The former NFLer -- who played against Brady during his lengthy pro career -- admitted the situation is a little "fragile" ... but given everything Tom has accomplished over the last two decades, he wouldn't be the guy complaining about the signal-caller's absence.

"I think it's fine," said the 35-year-old, who left the league following the 2019 season. "I think you've got to weigh the reward and the risk. I think Tom Brady's a very, very proven person in this league, and if anybody is going to get the benefit of the doubt, it's going to be him and I would have given it to him."

Brady initially left Tampa Bay camp on Aug. 11 -- with head coach Todd Bowles saying only that he was out dealing "with some personal things."

Tom eventually came back to practice on Aug. 22 -- and explained over the weekend that he needed the off time because, "I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s*** going on."

Scandrick says all of that would have been good enough for him ... telling us he would have said to Tom, "Do what you got to do."

Scandrick also weighed in on Aaron Donald's helmet-swinging temper tantrum at Rams vs. Bengals practice last week -- and he said he doesn't believe the L.A. superstar should be punished over it.

"It's a little work scuffle," he said with a smile.

Orlando is promising to give much more of his takes on NFL hot topics on his new "Airing It Out with Housh and Scandrick" show with former NFL star T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

48-year-old Terrell Owens has still got it -- the Hall of Famer just ran a 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds!!

The former Dallas Cowboys star accomplished the insane feat minutes ago while racing against two Fan Controlled Football league receivers ... and the video is impressive as hell.

T.O. took on the two wideouts -- 27-year-old Zappers star James Harden (not "The Beard") and 25-year-old Glacier Boyz star Andrew Jamiel -- at a park in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., after we're told the guys had been talking smack about a potential race for months.

In fact, Terrell and James raced at practice last season ... where T.O. was allegedly disqualified for jumping early. So, today was the day to run it back, and figure out once and for all, who's faster?

And, you can see in the clips, Owens edged the dudes outright at the finish line.

The former NFL player looked amazing, showing off a chiseled physique, and he was apparently moving so fast during the sprint ... some at the track had him clocked at 4.38!

T.O. immediately trash-talked following the race -- repeating over and over again, "I do this s***!"

Owens has insisted repeatedly over the last couple years that despite not playing a down in the NFL since the 2010 season, he could still suit up for an NFL squad today.

If Antonio Brown wants Jerry Jones to call him, it won't be about making him a Dallas Cowboy ... 'cause the legendary owner says he'd rather give his young receivers a chance.

The former Buccaneer spoke about his NFL future with TMZ Sports last week ... and while he has a boomin' rap career, it definitely sounded like he wasn't ready to step away from the game just yet -- saying, "Tell Jerry Jones to call me!"

Despite a pretty banged up receiver room with several injuries to key players, Jones seems uninterested in the idea of bringing in the Super Bowl champ.

"We're good," Jones says of AB's interest. "But, we want to give these young guys a real chance to make this team."

While the Hall of Fame owner is focused on youth, it doesn't mean it can't happen -- either that, or Jones was just being REALLY nice about the situation and just didn't want to give a flat-out "no."

AB probably isn't too concerned -- he currently has a hit song, "Put That S*** On," and a viral dance to go with it ... and as we previously reported, he's about to shoot a music video for it!!

Despite Michael Irvin's best efforts to keep the peace -- bar patrons still got involved in a wild fistfight near the Hall of Famer in Texas on Monday ... and the crazy scene was all captured in a video obtained by TMZ Sports.

The altercation happened at around 10 p.m. at Knockout Sports Bar near Dallas -- shortly after Irvin had arrived in town from filming ESPN's "First Take" in New York City earlier in the day.

We're told the former Dallas Cowboys superstar was playing some pool with a friend near the bar area -- when a man wearing a teal T-shirt walked up to try to get a picture with The Playmaker.

Witnesses say the man who was playing with Irvin, though, told the guy to scram -- which set the dude in the teal off.

You can see in the video, the man seemed to have a huge problem with Irvin's friend ... but the ex-wide receiver eventually stepped in to get everyone to calm down.

The footage shows Irvin even hugged the guy in the teal in order to prevent a fracas. But, we're told the guy kept pressing -- and eventually, it led to an all-out brawl.

The man swung on Irvin's friend a few times, appearing to connect with his jaw repeatedly. Bouncers raced in, but the melee seemed to continue.

Finally, some of the combatants left the bar, restoring order to the scene.

It should be noted Irvin was NOT involved in the fight in any way -- he was on the other side of the restaurant having a conversation with a server. We're told he left the venue minutes after the scrap concluded.

We reached out to cops, but they said they were not called to the scene and are not investigating.

The Cowboys have a problem at wide receiver ... and it seems Antonio Brown is willing to help out -- telling TMZ Sports this week, "Tell Jerry Jones to call me!"

Dallas' receiver room took a big hit this month, when free agent acquisition James Washington injured his foot. With Michael Gallup already out while recovering from ACL surgery, the team now has just one truly proven player at the position ready to go for Week 1 -- CeeDee Lamb.

Brown appears to be down to change that in Big D -- saying out in Bev Hills that he wants the Cowboys owner to give him a shout ... presumably to talk about a contract.

Of course, it's unclear how serious Brown is about it all -- he's been extremely focused on his music career this offseason, and has even created a new dance for one of his songs that's since gone viral.

It's also unknown if Jones would want AB -- considering all of the baggage that he seemingly carries and drops off whenever he joins teams.

As for his last squad -- the one that cut him following his wild outburst at MetLife Stadium -- Brown told us he still misses the Bucs and their QB, Tom Brady.

"Tell him I miss the passes," he said of TB12. "I'm still open!"

The woman involved in the heated dispute with Terrell Owens in a Florida neighborhood on Wednesday night told cops the NFL legend "threatened" her after nearly running her over -- new police audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.

In the 911 call, you can hear the woman tell dispatch that around 10:30 PM, Owens was driving "aggressively" through her neighborhood street in Broward County and "almost hit me."

"And then [he] got out of the car to threaten me," the woman said in the call.

The woman -- who authorities have not identified -- described the former Dallas Cowboys star as "an African-American individual" who was driving a four-door, green Genesis.

"He got out of his car and started threatening me," the woman said ... before adding, "He was literally speeding and then got mad at me because we were crossing in the sidewalk and he nearly hit us."

Of course, Owens' description of the event differs significantly -- on a social media live stream during his confrontation with the woman, he said he was not driving erratically at all.

And, Owens claimed he only got out of his car to speak with the woman after she had been hurling profanities his way.

Cops told us they did respond to the scene -- but no arrests were made, explaining, "The parties were separated, and the situation resolved."

Terrell Owens got into such a heated argument with a woman in his neighborhood on Wednesday night, cops had to get involved ... and when they arrived, the woman quarreling with the football legend screamed at T.O., "You're a Black man approaching a white woman!"

Parts of the incident were captured by Owens on his social media live stream -- after he and one of his neighbors apparently got into a dispute over the way he had been driving around his neighborhood.

Owens began filming the incident moments after cops had arrived on the scene.

In the footage, the woman accused T.O. of driving recklessly, nearly hitting her with his car, and then getting out of his ride to intimidate her. Owens adamantly denied the allegations, saying he was driving safely, and only got out of his vehicle because she was screaming profanities at him.

"You don't yell at me and tell me I almost hit you and I didn't," Owens can be heard telling the woman in the video.

"But, you didn't have to get out of your f***ing car!" she replied.

Owens continued, "You didn't have to talk to me that way, either! Karen!"

That's when the woman yelled back, "You're a Black man approaching a white woman!"

The woman then broke down in tears a few moments later. Owens accused her of hamming it up for the cop on the scene.

The police officer attempted to de-escalate the situation -- separating the two -- but it's unclear how it was all resolved ... Owens signed off before the cops left.

The 48-year-old former Dallas Cowboys star did caption the video by writing, "KAREN IS REAL!!!!"

"Wow!! JUST A NORMAL NIGHT OF BEING A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA 🤷🏾‍♂️😂😂," he continued. "I want to say I can’t believe it but y’all know what it is. #karenonbikes #tears #falseaccusations #hernameiskate"

More legal trouble for former Dallas Cowboys player Rolando McClain -- the ex-linebacker has been arrested again in Alabama, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 33-year-old, who last suited up in the NFL for the Cowboys in the 2015 season, was pulled over in a white 2022 Mercedes around 9:30 PM on Saturday, according to the Moulton Police Dept.

Cops say McClain was going 70 MPH in a 55 MPH zone ... and during the ensuing stop, police say they smelled an odor of marijuana emanating from his car.

According to cops, when they got McClain out of the ride, he told them there was a pistol inside of the vehicle that did not belong to him. Cops say they later determined McClain did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Officers also say that during the search of McClain's car, they found a pouch of chewing tobacco that they say also had a separate bag of marijuana in it.

McClain and the passenger in his car, Detrick Mostello, were then arrested, cops say.

McClain was booked on charges of speeding, possession of a concealed weapon without a permit, and misdemeanor unlawful possession of marijuana. Mostello, meanwhile, was booked on the same charge of misdemeanor unlawful possession of marijuana.

Both men bonded out shortly after they were booked.

Of course, this is not McClain's first run-in with the law in Alabama -- you'll recall, he was also arrested in 2017 and booked then for possession of marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon.

T.J. Vasher did his best impersonation of Odell Beckham Jr. at Cowboys training camp Friday ... laying out for an insane TD catch with just one hand!!!

The Dallas wideout was going up against Kelvin Joseph in a redzone, 11-on-11 drill ... when the football came to him just a little higher than he probably would've liked.

Turns out -- it was no problem for the 23-year-old former Texas Tech star, who plucked the ball out of mid-air to haul in the touchdown.

Fans in Oxnard, Calif. (where the 'Boys are hosting their training camp this year) went crazy -- and all of Vasher's teammates mobbed him on the field.

The play is a much-needed one for the 6-foot-6 receiver -- his roster spot on the Cowboys is by no means guaranteed ... but with plays like this, how could Mike McCarthy not keep him around?!

Wrestling star Hornswoggle -- who was born with a genetic condition that causes dwarfism -- says Jerry Jones should not have said he was sorry for using the m-word earlier this week ... explaining to TMZ Sports he doesn't find the term to be offensive.

Swoggle -- real name Dylan Postl -- broke it all down for us just a day after the Dallas Cowboys owner used the word while making a joke about one of his former employees who had passed away in May.

"You didn't need to apologize to me, Jerry Jones," the ex-WWE superstar said. "I'm a fan of yours for using the word because I use the word. Because I'm OK, and I don't take myself too seriously."

In his joke about Larry Lacewell, Jones said he wanted to "get me somebody, a m*****" to dress up like Dallas' former Director of College and Pro Scouting and stand next to him at practices.

Little People of America -- regarded as the largest dwarfism support organization in the world -- was appalled by the comment, and demanded an apology. Jones issued a mea culpa a short time later.

Hornswoggle, though, says he hopes Jerry continues to use the word -- telling us, "He's not using it in a derogatory way. That's my thing. He's not making fun of the community with how he's using it."

Swoggle added, "If you get offended by something like that, you're taking yourself way too seriously. We're all human. We all bleed the same blood. It's just ridiculous to me."