The Dallas Cowboys are looking to shore up one of their biggest weaknesses heading into training camp. A backup quarterback is needed in the worst way. Help may be coming to the Cowboys soon enough.
ESPN is reporting that the Cowboys are in trade talks with the Cleveland Browns to add a quarterback. The Cowboys’ target is veteran signal-caller Josh McCown. Can the Cowboys secure a trade for Josh McCown with the NFL preseason less than 48 hours away?
Dallas will need to do something soon. They will be without regular backup Kellen Moore. He fractured his fibula , as reported by ESPN, during practice on Tuesday.
Moore began to develop quite well after being pushed into the starter’s role late last season.
Last season was a disaster for the Dallas Cowboys in terms of injuries. Starter Tony Romo missed all but four games in 2015. The Cowboys won three of those games, finishing a woeful 4-12. Most of the struggles from last season came when Romo broke his collarbone , as reported by USA Today , not once, but twice. The second time that he broke his collarbone came during the only start that he lost.
Having a capable backup could have resulted in a better season. Perhaps the Cowboys could have even won the NFC East. They were not eliminated from the division race until Week 15.
The struggles from the offense with Romo out led to the overexposure to the Cowboys’ defense. A quarterback who could protect the football and hit the occasional open receiver is what Dallas would have settled for. With the Cowboys’ rumored interest in Josh McCown, they may land that quarterback.
Initially, the Dallas Cowboys had targeted former Los Angeles Rams’ starter Nick Foles to be their backup. It was thought that there was some mutual interest between the Cowboys and Foles. That ended the moment the quarterback agreed to join the Kansas City Chiefs, according to the Washington Post .
For Nick Foles, signing with the Chiefs was a wise business decision. He could have the opportunity of competing for the starting job in Kansas City. Foles would only be a backup with Dallas.
With Nick Foles no longer a free agent, the Cowboys turn to the Cleveland Browns for quarterbacking help. And Josh McCown may or may not be the answer for the Cowboys, but he is perhaps the best option at this point.
Hue Jackson on Josh McCown trade talk: “There’s nothing to it” https://t.co/JzoyUO6fzJ
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 5, 2016
McCown has a history of injuries over the last few years. It is ironic that the Cowboys want to bring in a quarterback with recent health problems to be the understudy to another quarterback with recent health concerns. It is also ironic that McCown would prefer to stay with Browns, according to ESPN.
“For me, my job and my heart (are) here, doing everything I can to help the Cleveland Browns be good.
“Like I’ve told you guys before, you spend five minutes in this city and it’s easy to be all-in.”
Cleveland Browns’ head coach, Hue Jackson, did what he could to squash the rumors of the Dallas Cowboys being interested in McCown.
“I have no thoughts whatsoever. You said it, it’s rumors. There’s nothing to it as far as we’re concerned. I’ve heard about it, obviously I have. But I feel good that he’s here. He’s a Cleveland Brown and I know nothing about the other part of it.”
The rumors have the Dallas Cowboys pursuing the Cleveland Browns’ Josh McCown. They will likely offer a conditional draft pick. It will be interesting to see how this works out.
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