The Solutions To The Dallas Cowboys QB Whirlwind
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FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - The Dallas Cowboys are about to withstand a QB whirlwind, anchored by the satisfaction that they employ a young, Pro Bowl starter.
Dak Prescott? No issues there.
Elsewhere? Issues … and answers.
The first order of business involves Tony Romo. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones can talk of a "do-right rule'' that he and Romo have agreed upon — most likely in that meeting between the two here inside The Star in Frisco that, despite so many denials, we reported on a month ago — but in reality, if Romo's only potential employer is a Dallas rival … well, Romo needs a job.
We reported two weeks ago that Romo agent Tom Condon was floating the Redskins idea, which is obviously less palatable to the Cowboys than our report from two sources on the Broncos' plan to "go hard after'' Romo should he be cut by Dallas.
Jerry suggests there's "no hurry'' here. But the NFL business year starts Wednesday. Cap room worth $5.1 million can be had when Dallas finally divorces Romo in some form. That transaction, hurry or not, is coming.
So, we think, is the re-signing of Kellen Moore as a backup QB.
"With a signed Kellen Moore, then you might need to bring in a potential future quarterback," Jones said over the weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indy. "Kellen would satisfy that itch. There is a relationship. He fits here real well."
What about Josh McCown? What about Mark Sanchez? With all due respect to outlets floating all these names, we predict McCown will be too expensive, we predict that despite Dak's relationship with Sanchez that he gets a one-year, $2-million offer to leave Dallas, and we predict that Moore — a favorite of Cowboys coordinator Scott Linehan — can nestle in here under the favorable terms of an obscure rule.
Moore has played two years in a row as a "Minimum Salary Benefit" player, thanks to a rule designed to help middling vets stay in the league by giving teams the option of signing a veteran player with four or more years in the league to a one-year contract at the minimum base salary, and a signing bonus of no more than $80,000, and having them count the same against the salary cap as a player in their second year on a minimum deal.
In this case, Moore can make $775,000 but only count $615,000 against the cap.
In 2017, Prescott's salary and cap hit is $635,848. With Moore impacting the cap even less than that, and Jerry's idea of unearthing another cheap kid to be on the roster, the Cowboys can beat the cap at the QB position … while calming the whirlwind around them.
