The Dallas Cowboys signing veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez signaled one of two things for me. Either the organization was going to continue to carry Jameill Showers as the third QB on the roster with Tony Romo headed for injured reserve, or Romo remains on the active roster and Showers is cut.
Well, as things stand right now #9 has avoided being placed on IR, but Showers has unfortunately been a casualty of the QB carousel.
Just because Showers was cut doesn’t mean that the Dallas Cowboys don’t want to bring him back as a member of the practice squad. I’m sure they would love for him to make it through the waiver wire so that they can re-sign him and keep him as a member of the team in 2016.
Of course, Showers first has to want to return to Dallas because there are 31 other teams around the league that could offer him a better opportunity to play.
In fact, I’m not the only one that thinks Jameill Showers has other options.
Cowboys would like to re-sign QB Jameill Showers to their practice squad if he clears waivers. He's getting some interest from other teams.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) September 4, 2016
This really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. At best, Showers is the third QB on the depth chart right now, but could end up being the fourth or fifth once Tony Romo and Kellen Moore are healthy once again.
Not exactly the situation I would be looking for if I was wanting to earn more playing time. I bet Showers can play the numbers game just as well as I can. So, I wouldn’t be holding my breath hoping the Cowboys will be able to re-sign him to the PS.
That means we will have Dak Prescott as the starting QB in 2016, with Mark Sanchez as the backup, at least as long as Tony Romo remains out.
Now, Prescott is still somewhat of an unknown at the NFL level. Yes, he performed well in the preseason, but the nature of the beast is entirely different once these games mean something in the win/loss column during the regular season.
The coaching staff for the Dallas Cowboys will do everything in their power to help Prescott succeed, but the signing of Mark Sanchez also gives them some insurance just in case he struggles.
Personally, I really like the signing of Sanchez. I know some of you won’t agree with me, but he is a veteran player that has had success in the NFL, albeit not enough to make some of you happy.
Here is a look at his accomplishments in the NFL as a starting QB.
| Year | Team | GS | Comp | Att | Comp % | Yards | TD | Int |
| 2009 | New York Jets | 15 | 196 | 364 | 53.8 | 2,444 | 12 | 20 |
| 2010 | New York Jets | 16 | 278 | 507 | 54.8 | 3,291 | 17 | 13 |
| 2011 | New York Jets | 16 | 308 | 543 | 56.7 | 3,474 | 26 | 18 |
| 2012 | New York Jets | 15 | 246 | 453 | 54.3 | 2,883 | 13 | 18 |
| 2013 | New York Jets | 0 | ||||||
| 2014 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8 | 198 | 309 | 64.1 | 2,418 | 14 | 11 |
| 2015 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 59 | 91 | 64.8 | 616 | 4 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 72 | 1,285 | 2,267 | 56.7 | 15,126 | 86 | 84 |
I’ll admit that these aren’t exactly inspiring numbers, but Sanchez has shown in the past that he is at his best when he has a strong running game to rely on. That is definitely something that the Cowboys can offer in order to help him succeed if he ever has to take the field.
Ideally, this never happens because Dak Prescott continues to play at a high level, forcing Sanchez to watch from the sidelines.
Unfortunately, Sanchez probably isn’t inspiring a lot of confidence in a lot of Cowboys fans. Personally, when I think of him the first thought that crosses my mind is the infamous “butt fumble”.
It’s funny how one play can pretty much define your image as an NFL player.
Hopefully, Sanchez has put the “butt fumble” incident behind him (pun intended). He now has to accept the role of backup QB and get up to speed as soon as possible with the Cowboys offensive scheme in case he is called upon.
Getting Mark Sanchez up to speed will be a challenge for both Sanchez and the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff. It will definitely take a lot of patience for both parties involved as well as a lot of studying.
Since the first regular-season game is now just less than a week away, I fully expect that they will have a designed package specifically for Sanchez in case he has to go in because of an injury to Prescott (heaven forbid).
In any case, this isn’t ideally the way the Dallas Cowboys would have liked to start their 2016 season, but sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and play the hand that you are dealt.
Do you like the signing of Mark Sanchez?
Please feel free to take advantage of the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions on whether or not you like the signing of Mark Sanchez.
