Cowboys release the wrong quarterback

With the concussion suffered by starting weakside linebacker Sean Lee in the Dallas Cowboys 33-27 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and an ankle injury limiting his primary back-up, Anthony Hitchens, the Cowboys are suddenly thin along their linebacker core. Therefore, Dallas has decided it can no longer carry three quarterbacks on their active roster. But then, they went and cut the wrong quarterback.

Late Tuesday, the Cowboys opted to release quarterback Kellen Moore. Instead of keeping the inexperienced 26-year old as the primary back-up to starter Matt Cassel, Dallas elected to keep 32-year old Brandon Weeden for that role instead. And that is a major mistake on their part.

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Weeden has already proven he is incapable of leading the Cowboys victory under center. In his four games as a starter in Dallas, the Cowboys are 0-4. Two ultra conservative games were bookended by two terrible individual performances by the former minor league baseball pitcher, dating back to last year. Likely the most well-prepared back-up in the history of the NFL, Weeden wilted under the bright lights in Big D, and should have been released instead of Moore.

Still, the Cowboys love Weeden’s prototypical size (6-4, 228 pounds), strong arm and starting experience. Even if the majority of that experience involves losing. Sometimes, when you really love something, you have to let it go.

Someone misevaluated Weeden’s talent two years when the Cowboys signed him as a free agent out of Cleveland. They also misevaluated their ability to develop him. And whoever that is, they need to be reevaluated themselves for poor decision-making. That person or persons is still within the organization and is still making the same mistakes involving Weeden.

No, instead of simply releasing Weeden, which they’ll likely do when Tony Romo returns from injury next week, they decided to get rid of Moore, despite never even giving him a real chance to show if he could be a good player for them or not. In the midst of a six-game losing streak, never even once did they consider starting Moore. All because of his lack of experience. This is Moore’s fourth-year in the NFL and he hasn’t yet played a single regular season game. But he is one of the greatest college quarterback in NCAA history, recording an amazing 50-3 record while under center for Boise State.

Why not give Moore a legitimate shot at the job? We all know exactly what Weeden is now. The opposite of a winner. Why are you playing it so safe Dallas? You are 2-6. What do you have to lose, really? The worst is you find yourself another bad quarterback. At best, the heir apparent to Romo.

Similar bad decisions by this Cowboys front office, scouting department and coaching staff really must to be evaluated. Although many will point to general manager and owner Jerry Jones as the culprit, and rightfully so, he’s likely far too busy defending the Greg Hardy signing to evaluate and scout players himself. Someone has been feeding Jerrah some bad intel!

Information like:

"Sure, we can replace running back DeMarco Murray with Joseph Randle.Or absolutely, second-year wide out Devin Street can be productive opposite Terrance Williams while Dez Bryant is gone.How about we give right tackle Doug Free a three-year extension?Yes, Cole Beasley is a good idea as a punt returner.Sure, keeping cornerback Brandon Carr on the team without adjusting his bloated salary sounds like a terrific idea!Why trade commodities like guard Ronald Leary or tight end Gavin Escobar when they can simply ride the bench for the rest of their time here in Dallas?"

Next: Here's why the return of Tony Romo does not matter

Seriously, it’s getting ridiculous just how many poor decisions are being made in Dallas right now. Although it’s likely the Cowboys will try to bring Moore back to their practice squad, releasing the young, untried quarterback instead of Weeden is simply Dallas’ newest mistake in a long list of them recently.

The Cowboys allegedly made the move so seventh round rookie linebacker Mark Nzeocha could be activated and help add some much needed depth along their linebacker corps.

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