The Dallas Cowboys' quarterback position has been hit by injuries once again. While it's not Tony Romo this time, backup Kellen Moore has suffered a broken ankle. He'll need surgery and will miss three-to-four months. That means best case, he's back sometime in November. Moore, who is basically a left-handed Matt Cassel, is a fringe backup QB to begin with. Now that he's out for a big chunk of the season, it's time for the Cowboys to go sign or trade for another backup QB.
The QBs on the roster are Dak Prescott (a fourth round rookie) and Jameill Showers (a UDFA from UTEP). Prescott isn't really ready to take on the backup role, especially since he said he didn't know the difference between Cover 3 and man coverage. Showers has always been intriguing, but going into the season with Showers is a bad idea unless he really wows in the preseason after completing only 46.9 percent of his passes in the preseason last year. That leaves the Cowboys with two options: trade a pick (or player like Ron Leary) for a backup or go out and sign one. With that in mind, here are 5 players the Cowboys could target to replace Kellen Moore.
5. Johnny Manziel, FA
Nah, I'm kidding. This is a terrible idea. If Jerry Jones suggests Manziel (again), this should be the reaction from Stephen Jones, Jason Garrett and every fan:
Seriously, do NOT do this Dallas. Ever.
5. Matt McGloin, Raiders
Alternatively, you could include A.J. McCarron here. They're both similar QBs in the sense that they're the obvious backs up a team with established starters and aren't actually very likely to be moved. That's because the price to obtain a solid, young and cheap QB is very high. McGloin might not be long for Oakland with Connor Cook now in town, but this is a long-shot at best.
4. Mike Vick, FA
The free agent market for QBs (outside of one player) is terrible. Outside of Vick, the top options are guys like Matt Flynn, Charlie Whitehurst, Jimmy Clausen and T.J. Yates. Vick wasn't that great for the Steelers last year, completing 60.6 percent of his passes for two TDs and a pick in three starts. But there aren't a lot of options and Vick has at least one more year left in him at age 36. Plus, he'd sell more jerseys than Flynn and if Romo goes down no matter what, the Cowboys are going to be in trouble.
3. Josh McCown, Browns
Here's another trade option, although a bit more realistic. McCown isn't going to beat out Robert Griffin III in Cleveland, which makes him expendable. The Browns don't have a viable backup if they deal McCown, but since they aren't going to compete, they'd be better off getting something for him.
2. Mike Glennon, Bucs
The Cowboys reportedly haven't reached out to the Bucs about Glennon yet, but that could change. Glennon isn't the future for the Bucs at this point, as that's Jameis Winston. Cheap, young and solid QBs are valuable, but Glennon is in the final year of his deal. The Bucs' asking price might be high, but the Cowboys could be willing to meet it. Glennon could be a solid backup and might be a better option as the QB of the future than Prescott.
1. Nick Foles, FA
I thought the Cowboys should have gone after Foles even before Moore went down. Adding him makes even more sense now. Adam Schefter reports the Cowboys explored a trade before he was cut. Ian Rapoport reports there's mutual interest between Foles and the Cowboys. Foles is not the 27 TD - 2 INT QB he looked like early with the Eagles, but he's also not as bad (hopefully) as he showed with the Rams. It's not an ideal situation, but adding Foles won't cost the team a draft pick and he's better (by a wide margin) than the rest of the free agent QBs.
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