Dallas Cowboys Rumors: Brandon Weeden Is Done, Matt Cassel Is In – Will Cowboys Look At Free Agent Quarterbacks?
The Dallas Cowboys dropped to 2-3 on the season after an embarrassing 30-6 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Not only did the defense get thrashed, but backup quarterback turned starter Brandon Weeden had quite arguably the worst performance of his time in Dallas. Now, it looks like Matt Cassel’s time has come, and the Cowboys really should start looking at free agent quarterbacks until Tony Romo returns.
As recapped by ESPN, Weeden went 26-of-39 for just 188 yards and one interception with no touchdowns. He was also sacked three times for a loss of 24 yards, but more than that, Weeden just looked lost out there.
The best that Weeden has looked all season was against the Philadelphia Eagles when he came in to replace Romo, who broke his left clavicle in the game. He finished 7-of-7 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown. During that performance, Cowboys’ fans thought that they wouldn’t be that bad off during Romo’s absence, but now they’ve lost three straight.
After the loss on Sunday, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that the team was going to evaluate the quarterback position during the bye week, according to USA Today. After a week off, the Cowboys will play the New York Giants in a game that they hope will mark the return of wide receiver Dez Bryant from injury.
It may also mark the debut of Matt Cassel in a Cowboys uniform. Weeden spoke of the evaluation after the game.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll (let) my play do the talking…. Today was not my best. I have to put that behind me. That’s (the coaches’) decisions.”
On the other side of the field, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots continued to look like they could do no wrong. Brady finished 20-of-27 for 275 yards and two touchdowns as the Pats moved to 4-0 and are still looking like early Super Bowl favorites.
Even though it’s like comparing apples to oranges, New England Patriots beat reporter Jeff Howe thought it would be interesting to compare Brady and Weeden’s win/loss total in the last three years. It’s strikingly similar and vastly different all at the same time.
Losses since Dec. 10, 2012: Tom Brady: 11 Brandon Weeden: 11 Wins since Dec. 10, 2012: Tom Brady: 36 Brandon Weeden: 0
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) October 12, 2015
Again, it’s not really a fair comparison, but it’s still quite shocking to see the vast difference.
For the Cowboys, it looks as if even though an evaluation is going to be done, it’s going to be Matt Cassel starting after the bye week. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows that Cassel has only been with the team for a few weeks now, and he said they’re still “a long way” from deciding if the quarterback change will be made or not.
Still, when asked if Cassel has had enough time to get a hold of the Cowboys offense yet, Jones simply said, “Yes.”
There are some free agent quarterbacks out there on the market and there is a bit of time left until Tony Romo is healthy enough to return. One of those quarterbacks is Tim Tebow.
Tebow has been mentioned and named in rumors before about heading to the Dallas Cowboys, but, obviously, nothing ever became of them. Now, they’re really just down to one decent quarterback and need a spark of some kind. Tebow could be that spark.
The Dallas Cowboys haven’t actually said it, but the Brandon Weeden experiment is done, and Matt Cassel will likely start against the Giants in two weeks. Tim Tebow is a possible option, but a longshot. Now, it’s just try to stop the bleeding of a three-game losing streak and hope Tony Romo’s healing is ahead of schedule.
[Image via Getty Images – Ronald Martinez/Al Bello/David Welker]
