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Kellen Moore To Be Tony Romo’s Backup For The Dallas Cowboys

By Scott Seningen
Published on: 08:44 PST, May 5, 2016

According to Dallas Cowboys’ team owner Jerry Jones, Kellen Moore will be the backup quarterback to Tony Romo in 2016.

Kellen Moore was part of a trio of quarterbacks who cycled through Dallas at the quarterback position, in addition to Tony Romo, for the Cowboys last season. Along with Moore, Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel also saw time at QB.

Brandon Weeden started the season as backup to Romo, but became the starter after Tony was hurt in Dallas’ Week 2 win against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys traded for Matt Cassel shortly thereafter.

Weeden started three games, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. Subsequently, Dallas decided to start Cassel at quarterback. Cassel took the first snap in seven games for the Cowboys, filling in for two additional games. After suffering a losing record for the season, Dallas gave Kellen Moore a shot to play.

Moore appeared in the Cowboys’ final three games, starting the final two. In that stretch, according to the Pro-Football-Reference website, Kellen threw the ball 104 times with 61 completions, for 779 yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions.

His first game was against the New York Jets, when he relieved Cassel. He connected with Dez Bryant for a touchdown and threw three interceptions in the loss. In his first game as the Dallas starter, Moore reduced his interceptions to one but did not find the end zone in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Showing development, Kellen finished the season with a strong performance against the Washington Redskins. In the final game of the season, Moore launched the ball 48 times, with a 68.8 completion percentage for 435 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Unfortunately for Dallas, the game ended in a loss.

As recounted by Brandon George on the Dallas Morning News website, Jerry Jones seems confident with having Moore at the quarterback position, from an improvement standpoint.

“Kellen Moore has shown the ‘it,’ he’s got the instincts, he’s got the anticipation, he knows what’s going on, he gives me and us a great feeling about basically improving.”

Currently on the Dallas Cowboys’ roster, Kellen Moore is joined by Tony Romo and Jameill Showers. Dallas also drafted quarterback Dak Prescott out of Mississippi State this year.

The backup quarterback position becomes a critical one for Dallas, in light of the injuries suffered recently by starter Tony Romo. In 2015, the Cowboys’ starter suffered two collarbone fractures, limiting his time on the field. As reported on the CBS Sports website, Romo’s rehabilitation from surgery has gone well so far. At 36 years of age, there is concern that the injury could happen to Romo again, forcing the second-string QB into action for the Cowboys next season.

Last season was Kellen Moore’s fourth in the NFL. He spent the previous three seasons on the Detroit Lions’ roster without a regular season appearance.

Kellen was a standout quarterback in college for Boise State. In 2009, Moore was named to the first-team All-America squad by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and CBS Sportsline. In 2010, he was named an All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, and was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, coming in fourth place in the voting. Moore, like Romo, was an undrafted free agent before landing in the NFL.

Although Moore looks to be slotted in as the backup for the Cowboys at this point, Dak Prescott and Jamiell Showers could both move up the ladder with exceptional performance in camp and preseason play.

[Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]

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