Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy regrets it Trey Lance didn’t give any reps late in Monday night’s 34-10 loss to the Texans. But owner Jerry Jones has no desire to see Lance start a game for the Cowboys.

“I don’t know anything about that,” Jones said of Lance potentially starting. “I want to give our team – at all stages – the very best chance to be successful. So we’re going to go out here with the quarterback that gives us the best chance to win the game.”

That means Cooper Rush will continue to start, as he has done since Dak Prescott tore his hamstring in a Nov. 3 game against the Falcons. Rush has made 158 appearances since Prescott’s injury, including 128 of 143 offensive plays in the past two games.

The Cowboys gave Lance 15 snaps in the fourth quarter of the 34-6 loss to the Eagles in Week 10.

There’s no point in the Cowboys not wanting to see Lance.

They are 3-7, including 0-2 with Rush, and they are headed for a coaching change in the offseason. Both Rush and Lance are free agents in March, and the Cowboys gave the 49ers a fourth-round draft pick for Lance just before the start of the 2023 season.

Lance’s 15 goals against the Eagles rank as the only regular season action he has recorded in his two seasons with the Cowboys.

Jones was asked why he wouldn’t want Lance to start a game given all these factors.

“Yes, I think our best chance is to have Rush here, and the goal is to win the game,” Jones said.

That statement is devastating for Lance. It sounds like the Cowboys have seen enough of Lance in practice and the preseason that they don’t need to see more to know they’re moving on after this season.

The Cowboys have said repeatedly that Lance “just needs reps.” Still, they won’t give him reps if they have nothing left to play for in 2024.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement (in Lance),” Jones said. “I think he does some things really well. I think his footwork is noticeably better, and I see the value of the reps he’s had. So I have seen improvement there.”

He just has no desire to see if Lance has improved when it comes to playing in regular season games.

So as it stands, the trade with the 49ers for Lance ranks as one of the worst in team history.