Even though this is Super Bowl week, here in Dallas the Cowboys are still on the top of everyone’s mind. Owner Jerry Jones is making some real head scratching moves. They have hired a passing game coordinator that will have more power than the offensive coordinator. They have an assistant head coach with really no power what so ever. What is being lost in the shuffle is what do they do at quarterback?
Tony Romo who will be age 34 when the season starts, is coming off his second back surgery in nine months. Coincidentally that is the same age and issue that ended the career of Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. Which as many fans know this sent this franchise into quarterback purgatory. Cowboy fans know the names of Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf and even Drew Henson, which always makes me cringe at the thought. This all happened during a stretch from 2000-2005 and there are many more names that didn’t make the list mentioned above.
The Cowboys could very well be headed towards purgatory once again. Beyond Romo there is only one other quarterback on the roster in Kyle Orton. Jones and head coach Jason Garrett shouldn’t wait until next year to find Romo’s heir apparent. Orton isn’t the answer to take over as he will be 32 in 2014. On top of the age factor, Orton is playing on his fourth team since joining the NFL in 2005. Obviously he doesn’t have what it takes to be a franchise guy.
The best opportunity to find their next guy is in the NFL Draft, the path of righteousness in football. This doesn’t have to be an early selection especially with all of the holes on defense but passing on a guy like Derek Carr if available wouldn’t be good for business. Carr is a smart kid, a film junkie and has a cannon for a right arm. He is the type of quarterback that his team needs to stretch a defense.
Carr isn’t the only quarterback who they should target. The other quarterback that I am extremely high on is Aaron Murray, despite coming off of a season-ending knee injury. The injury could actually play into the favor of the Cowboys as he could slide to the mid rounds. There could be any number of players they could turn to but with the ticking time-bomb in the back of Romo, now is the time to draft a quarterback.