Our resident superstar and blogger extraordinaire was a guest today for the Football Guys podcast. You can listen to the show here.
The Cowboys currently employ Brad Johnson as the backup quarterback to Tony Romo. Great leader in the locker room. Solid veteran presence on the team. A Super Bowl winner. And someone who will be 40 years old in September.
While Johnson certainly isn't the worst backup quarterback to have, the fact is if Tony Romo were (god forbid) to go down with an injury the dynamics of the offense would change drastically. Johnson just does not possess the athletic ability any longer to maintain the Cowboys' high flying offense and if he has to play for any significant amount of time the playbook will become severely limited.
The Cowboys are going to be in the running for the Super Bowl this year and being able to maintain momentum and persevere through injuries includes having success from backup positions. Back in the glory days of the early nineties the Cowboys always had a good backup in place that stepped in at key junctures of the season that helped the team on the road to three championships. Bernie Kosar, Rodney Peete and Jason Garrett all had key games as Cowboys backups.
Today Quinn Gray was released by the Houston Texans . Chis Simms is causing a stir in Tampa Bay as the Bucs are pretty much holding him hostage after informing him we would not be on the team in 2008. Both are interesting propositions for the Cowboys to look at to replace Johnson as the backup quarterback.
Gray was solid last year backing up David Garrard in Jacksonville, and has a career QB rating of 88.5. He has good mobility and an accurate arm and could be signed for a minimum contract by the Cowboys if interested. Chris Simms was just starting to make a name for himself two years ago when he suffered a devastating injury that ruptured his spleen. Since then he has fought hard to regain his mechanics and confidence and has become lost in the quagmire of Tampa Bay quarterbacks. Simms could be looking to go somewhere he has a chance of starting but the chance to play for a Super Bowl contender is always tough to resist.
Signing a backup quarterback though is easier said than done. The Cowboys don't have a whole bunch of cap room and there is always the strict 80 man roster rule. The team is also big publicly on Richard Bartel but who knows what their true feelings on him are. Personally I think the Cowboys should at least inquire about Gray and Simms and if it works bring them in.
What are your guys' thoughts?
Hat tip to APerfectStar for posting the Quinn Gray story in his fanshot.
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