Could the Dallas Cowboys finally be considering drafting a quarterback this year to serve as a backup to Tony Romo? Owner and King Cowboy Jerry Jones is currently scouting out talent during Senior Bowl practices watching some of the top quarterbacks throw passes. This year's draft class is stacked at the quarterback position and Jones admits he is very interested in drafting someone.
Dallas currently has Romo signed to a seven-year, $119.5 million contract that includes $55 million in guaranteed money. That is a large salary cap hit. Kyle Orton is his backup. Both quarterbacks are currently in their 30's and injuries have made their run.
Just this offseason, Romo underwent surgery on his back to repair a herniated disk. Head coach Jason Garrett insisted that they surgery offered instant relief for the quarterback and he will be expected to be ready and healthy when offseason workouts roll around.
"He says he feels really good," Garrett said, via the Dallas Morning News. "I think anybody who has that surgery will tell you the same thing: Initially, they feel great because there's so much pressure back there on the nerves and whatever goes into that injury. So they get immediate relief, and then they have to recover from the actual surgery itself. So he's moving around and everyone's optimistic he'll be back and ready to go for the off-season program."
However, the potential healthiness of Romo still has Jones and Cowboys VP Stephen Jones heavily scouting a quarterback to possibly take the place of Orton next season. Unless the team makes a dumb move, they will not draft someone until a middle round, but they are set on drafting at least one rookie at the position.
"You always have to be open to that," Jones said, via Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. "Yeah, and whether it's a guy ultimately one day, your future, even if its at some point it enables you to not have a better (more expensive) backup, that saves you money if you're able to get on a guy like that, so we're always open to it."
So who could Dallas be considering? ESPN reports they appear very high on Derek Carr, Logan Thomas and AJ McCarron with a late draft pick. All three quarterbacks are expected to be taken, at the earliest, in the third round which would fit well for the Cowboys. McCarron is waiting to throw at the NFL scouting combine while both Carr and Thomas have been drawing strong reviews during their Senior Bowl practices.
Dallas has several needs to fill on the roster. They are very limited as far as salary cap is concerned so being smart in the draft is very important since rookies come cheaper than free agents. Getting a young quarterback to begin developing behind both the aging Romo and Orton would be a smart move, but do not put anything past Jones.
