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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci in 2022.
In the craziest twist to this year’s NFL Playoffs, the Denver Broncos lost starting quarterback Bo Nix to a broken ankle suffered in an AFC Divisional Round overtime win over the Buffalo Bills.
It was a twist made even crazier because Nix broke his ankle and stayed on the field for 2 more plays to finish the game-winning drive and showed no apparent signs of an injury.
The real shock came an hour or so later, when Broncos head coach Sean Payton called a second postgame press conference to disclose Nix’s injury and that he was headed to surgery, forcing them to start Jarrett Stidham in next Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
The Broncos, with little time to waste, moved quickly to sign a third healthy quarterback and turned to former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci to be the emergency third-string quarterback behind Stidham and Sam Ehlinger.
“Broncos are signing veteran QB Ben DiNucci to their practice squad, per source,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X. “He rejoins the team he played for two seasons ago.”
“Ben DiNucci spent all of 2023 with the Broncos and Sean Payton on the practice squad, so he’s familiar with offensive system,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens wrote on X.
As always, the internet wasted little time turning DiNucci’s signing into a way to make fun of the Cowboys, who haven’t played in the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.
“Ben DiNucci made a Championship game before Dak Prescott,” Eagles fan RB Philly Fan wrote on his official X account.
DiNucci Started for Cowboys as Rookie in 2020
DiNucci was a seventh round pick (No. 228 overall) by the Cowboys in the 2020 NFL draft after he earned CAA Offensive Player of the Year and led James Madison to an FCS Championship Game appearance in 2019.
DiNucci, 29 years old, started one game for the Cowboys in 2020, going 21-of-40 passing for 180 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in a 23-9 loss to the Eagles.
After 2 seasons with the Cowboys, DiNucci was out of football for a year before returning in 2023 to play for the XFL’s Seattle Dragons, where he led the league with 2,671 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 10 games.
He returned to the NFL in 2023 and 2024 with the Broncos, New Orleans Saints and Bills.
DiNucci was part of the final cuts for the Atlanta Falcons in 2025 before the 53-man roster was released and moved quickly into the broadcast booth for CBS Sports as a color commentator for college football.
Cowboys Have Backup QB Spot Locked in 2026
While the Cowboys have plenty of questions in regards to their roster this offseason — led by already being $36 million-plus over the salary cap — one spot they don’t have to worry about is backup quarterback for Prescott.
The Cowboys traded with the Patriots for 2024 seventh round pick Joe Milton before the 2025 season, and he showed he can be a more than serviceable backup for Prescott, who is the highest paid player in NFL history with a 4-year, $240 million contract.
In an interesting twist, the Cowboys haven’t drafted a quarterback since they took DiNucci in the seventh round in 2020.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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