The Dallas Cowboys are rumored to be in a quarterback quandary, and Tim Tebow could end up being the savior of the hopeless season.
The Cowboys were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday, losing to the New York Jets by a 16-13 margin. In the loss the Cowboys sank even further into a quarterback valley, benching the ineffective Matt Cassel and replacing him with the equally awful Kellen Moore.
With just two games left and nothing of consequence to play for, the situation has revived rumors that the team may look to Tim Tebow to help end out the season.
Some of the rumors surrounding the Dallas Cowboys are being stoked directly by the team. After Saturday night’s loss to the Jets, coach Jason Garrett left the door open for a quarterback acquisition when he refused to commit to Kellen Moore as the starter for the final two games of the season.
Cowboys’ Matt Cassel benched for Kellen Moore against Jets https://t.co/mnk8tDWvbo pic.twitter.com/TNC7Bnmrmx
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 20, 2015
Kellen Moore’s TD pass to Dez Bryant was his first since 12/22/11… in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. #NYJvsDAL pic.twitter.com/V0yqpOfYOg
— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2015
Moore completed 15 of 25 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in Saturday’s loss, his first NFL action. Garrett said the team would need to do some work before deciding who would be under center for the remainder of the season.
“We’ll go back, and we’ll evaluate the tape, and we’ll make the determinations and really throw out a roster as to who we want to play and how we want to play it,” Garrett said (via ESPN ). “Our focus is to win a ballgame, and the byproduct when you get to this time of the season with where we are, there’s an opportunity to evaluate every player.”
It’s not clear if the Dallas Cowboys have an answer on their roster. Matt Cassel has looked awful at times, including a very ill-advised interception on Saturday night. After the Jets sniffed out a planned screen to Cole Beasley, Cassel stumbled and launched a lofting pass toward the sidelines, one that was easily intercepted by Darrelle Revis.
Just how bad was the pass? Referees actually threw a flag for intentional grounding, even though it was intercepted.
After the game, even Cassel admitted it was a boneheaded play.
“Unfortunately, it was the ultimate no-no at the quarterback position,” Cassel said. “When something’s not there, you throw it away, and I was trying to do that. Unfortunately, I didn’t get enough on it, and it becomes the worst play I’ve ever had.”
While there are no official reports connecting Tim Tebow to the Dallas Cowboys, there have been rumors throughout the course of this season that the team may give him a try . The free agent pool for quarterbacks is very thin, as injuries throughout the league have brought anyone halfway decent onto an active roster.
Many Cowboys fans seem on board with the idea.
I’ll stick to my guarantee that Tim Tebow would have won more games than #DallasCowboys backups. I mean cmon… Kellen Moore? @JohnMossTV
— Austin Chadwick (@AustinChadwick) December 20, 2015
I know that @TimTebow can give us a better chance to win. #Tebow2Cowboys
— Brandon Garza (@Brandonleee15) December 20, 2015
Though he hasn’t played extended NFL action in close to four years, Tebow has stayed in playing shape and could likely step in to a simplified version of the team’s offense.
Tim Tebow would be an unconventional pick for the Dallas Cowboys, but with the season already over, that could be just the move owner Jerry Jones is looking for. And perhaps most importantly, Tebow could generate some excitement without causing any serious risk to the team’s draft status.
[Picture by Rich Schultz/Getty Images]
