Yesterday, fellow staff writer Brian Martin posed a question which Cowboys fans have wondered for many of the previous seasons.
Do the Cowboys have to worry about their backup quarterback situation?
After living through the Tony Romo-era, our immediate to that question tends to be a resounding “yes.” Of course the Cowboys should shore up their QB2 slot, especially considering that he is just one play away from having the team’s most important starting role.
But as it currently sits, a rather unproven and under-qualified Kellen Moore is the favorite to be the Cowboys’ week one backup quarterback. While Moore has a rabid following and passionate fan base, he is yet to really perform to the standards his fans have set for him on Sundays.
Sure, he had a solid outing in garbage time against the Washington Redskins in 2015, but his game-time against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets during previous weeks was certainly lackluster.
I think it is fair to say the Cowboys should at least be looking for a new backup quarterback, preferably a veteran presence who has proven he can operate an offense at the professional level.
Currently, the most proven quarterback available would be former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick. I know he has become sort of a controversial figure in some circles, but the fact is that he can still play at a relatively high level. And, as a backup to Dak Prescott, he would the be perfect fit.
Another route the Cowboys could look towards is former Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns QB Robert Griffin III. Similar to Kaepernick, he has experience running a professional offense, and has had good success doing so. Despite poor team results for both quarterbacks in 2016, each performed the best they had in years individually.
I know these names don’t necessarily excite you, but they would be able to serve the QB2 role in Dallas perfectly. Ideally, they wouldn’t ever even have to play a snap for the Cowboys, but if needed, they could be plug and play guys with a ton of offensive talent surrounding them.
The point of this article isn’t to give a comprehensive list of potential free agent quarterbacks, however. Instead, I wanted to give a response to Brian Martin’s question on here yesterday.
I think that backup quarterback is arguably a top 3 need remaining for this roster. Similar to their right tackle need, however, it is not nearly as dire as was the cornerback position prior to the NFL Draft.
While this roster is built better than it ever has been to withstand an injury to its starting quarterback, the last thing you want is a revolving door at backup quarterback like the Cowboys had in 2015.
Even on draft day I was clamoring for the Cowboys to take another young quarterback later on in day three. As Miami Hurricanes QB Brad Kaaya continued to fall, I hoped the Cowboys would take a look in round six and potentially find a chess piece to move through trade later on.
The Cowboys can afford to go into the season with Kellen Moore as their backup quarterback. I, personally, would like to see them bring in some competition for the young quarterback though, and learn from their past roster building mistakes.
The 49ers ex is a POS! We don’t need his crap! This is a horrible post and your an idiot! FAN 4/55 YEARS. DC4L
Kevin Brady: Let me give you a few facts. S Linehan should be one of the top QB experts in the world. He certainly knows a lot more about what it takes to be an NFL QB than you and I. S Linehan knows K Moore well having been his coach for two years in Detroit and almost two years in Dallas. S Linehan says K Moore can play in the NFL. He also says he has a strong enough arm to play and knows his limitations. He has also said he compensates or overcomes his weaknesses with this outstanding pocket passing skills. S Linehan picked K Moore to be the 2nd team QB going into the 2016 season and has evidently picked him to be the 2nd team QB for 2017 also. You compared experience wise K Moore to Griffin and Kaepernick. It is true, K Moore has way less starting experience. However K Moore has been playing QB since he could walk so he actually has a lot more experience than many QBs coming into the NFL. He also is very smart about being a QB and plays instinctively so he may know as much or more than Griffin and Kaepernick. S Linehan has the confidence in him so why should you care about it or question S Linehan’s judgment.
You mentioned K Moore being lackluster when he played two and one half games in 2015. However this was the first time K Moore had ever played in a season game and he had limited reps to get ready to play. In the Washington game he threw for over 435 yards even though it was mostly against the 2nd team. I would say compare his performance to the first two and one half games of any NFL QB starting in the NFL to get a fair comparison. I bet all things considered he did a pretty good job. Again I know S Linehan thought he played fairly well considering it was his first time playing and he had limited reps to get ready. Linehan said he did some really good things and moved the ball well, even though he made some mistakes or had things to clean up.
I completely disagree. Stats alone invalidate the author’s arguement that Moore had somehow played terribly compared to other quarterbacks within same situation. Kellen played better than some of the biggest names in football and with zero practice. Look at Aikman and Peyton in their first three games. Often quarterbacks have issues with Ints vs TDs, but most of them got to practice with the first stringers and at least had healthy WRs, unlike Moore. Let’s not forget that Moore still outperformed “Golden Boy” Dak in regards to yard per game, avg 20 yd play per game, and most important much higher 3rd down conversion rate. Moore did that with a team who was playing for draft position. Let’s forget in who Dak played against, pobably the easiest schedule in Cowboy history.
As a veteran and Police Officer I would be offended and disgusted if Colin K was brought in as QB2 and with JJ’s stance on the National Anthem I really just don’t see that happening.
Tired of the national anthem garbage. If he’s good enough,get him! He had every right not to stand and he didn’t. Time to move on.