Cowboys sign Gilbert after Prescott injury

The Dallas Cowboys signed quarterback Garrett Gilbert off Cleveland’s practice squad Tuesday after Dak Prescott’s seasonending ankle injury.

Gilbert played at Texas and SMU before he was drafted by the Rams, who were then in St. Louis, in the sixth round in 2014. Dallas is the seventh organization for Gilbert, who has played in six games and thrown six passes in his career.

The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert played parts of five games behind Baker Mayfield in Cleveland last season. His other game was with Carolina in 2018, when he had the only two completions of his career.

Andy Dalton, who started nine years in Cincinnati before joining Dallas in the offseason, led consecutive drives to field goals in the fourth quarter of last week’s 37-34 victory over the New York Giants.

The likely backup to Dalton for now is rookie Ben DiNucci, who was a seventh-round pick a few months after leading James Madison to the FCS championship game before losing to North Dakota State.

DiNucci made the active roster as the third quarterback and was inactive for the first five games.

Prescott’s gruesome injury came in the third quarter against the Giants when his lower right leg got caught under defensive back Logan Ryan. Prescott sustained a compound fracture and dislocation that required surgery at a hospital Sunday night.

The Cowboys play Arizona in the last of three straight home games Monday night.