Consider the QB room of the 2020 Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, and rookie Ben DiNucci.
Prescott has been to four Pro Bowls, led the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2023, is the highest-paid player in average annual value in the sport today, and has thrown for more yards than all but 31 men who have ever played it at this level.
Dalton is a 15-year veteran who has won games as a starter for five different franchises and is one of just 29 passers to ever throw more than 250 touchdowns.
DiNucci, a seventh-round draft pick out of tiny James Madison, has stepped on the field in three NFL contests, been cut from seven teams, posted a grand total of 219 passing yards, and thrown exactly as many touchdowns in the league as you have.
Guess which one is on a team now prepping to play in a conference championship?
DiNucci, 29, was signed to the Denver Broncos’ practice squad on Sunday, the day after starting quarterback Bo Nix suffered an ankle fracture at the very end of the team’s divisional-round win over Buffalo.
DiNucci has familiarity with the Broncos, having been brought to 2023’s training camp by head coach Sean Payton in his first season in Denver; DiNucci then worked that season on the team’s practice squad. He did not get into a game with the Broncos and has not played in an NFL contest since his rookie season with Dallas.
That year, after injuries sidelined both Prescott and Dalton, DiNucci- considered a project of Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy- made his first career start in a Week 8 clash with the Eagles. The rookie went 21-of-40 passing for 180 yards, but failed to get into the end zone, lost a pair of fumbles, and was sacked four times in a 23-9 loss.
Garrett Gilbert replaced him the following week. DiNucci spent 2021 on the Cowboys practice squad and then was cut prior to the start of the 2022 season.
A year with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons followed in 2023; when DiNucci led that league in passing yards. That paved the way for his return to the NFL with Denver. Stints with Buffalo, New Orleans, and Atlanta followed.
It was this past August, after an eight-day stay with the Falcons that included an emergency signing and whirlwind appearance in the team’s preseason finale, that DiNucci went viral for a tongue-in-cheek social media post from a bar at the Atlanta airport, celebrating being cut from the NFL for a seventh time.
DiNucci failed to land with a team during the 2025 season but happened to be on-air doing analyst work in the CBS Sports HQ studios Saturday night when Nix went down with his injury in Denver.
Just a few hours after weighing in on TV about how the Broncos should proceed to the AFC Championship with backup Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger behind him, DiNucci was signed by the Broncos.
And now his improbable career has him closer to the Super Bowl than Dak Prescott has ever gotten.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Former Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci signs with Broncos ahead of AFC title game
Reporting by Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
