Countdown to Cowboys Training Camp: Quarterback preview

The Dallas Cowboys have a heated quarterback battle for the backup position in this summer’s training camp.

With OTA’s coming to an end this week, we look forward to the position battles coming up during training camp in late July. Today, we breakdown the quarterback position.

The quarterback position is always a hot topic for the Dallas Cowboys. There is no debate about who the number one signal caller is — Tony Romo has that locked up as long as he is healthy — but there is plenty of questions surrounding the players competing to be his backup.

Other than Romo the Cowboys have signal callers Kellen Moore, Dak Prescott, and Jameill Showers. With Romo’s health concerns the past several seasons the team has to get one of these quarterbacks ready to compete and when games if called upon. As witnessed last year, the team failed to get the backup quarterbacks ready.

Team owner Jerry Jones has been very vocal of his support for Moore in a backup role, and he should be much improved after a full off-season under his belt learning the nuances of the offense.

The battle to watch in this position group is Showers and Moore, in my opinion. Prescott is a rookie, but the coaching staff interviewed him several times before drafting the former SEC star. Prescott is believed to be the player being groomed for the future, while Showers and Moore are looked at strictly as backup players.

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Moore showed the world last year that he is capable of playing in the NFL and getting the ball to his play-makers, regardless of lacking ideal size and arm strength. Against the Washington Redskins last season Moore completed 33 of 48 passes for 435 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The performance put him in the top 5 in franchise history for passing yards in a single game. Some argue that Washington was playing soft all game to prevent the big play, but it was an impressive performance either way.

Showers was a player last preseason that seemed to be able to do a little bit of everything well. He showed good movement in the pocket, could extend plays with his legs, and he even covered kickoffs showing off his toughness on special teams. He is one of those players that has the “it” factor and could make it interesting for Moore.

Prescott is a player to watch this summer as he is a former record setting player from the SEC conference in college. He seems to also have the “it” factor and is a big, formidable player with the ball in his hands. I fully expect Prescott to impress this summer, and possibly push to be the number two quarterback.

Next: Five disappointing Cowboys who could be starters

Final roster prediction: Dallas will keep three quarterbacks this year and go with Romo, Moore, and Prescott. The team will try to sneak Showers back on the practice squad for another season and continue to groom their young signal callers. Hopefully, with a little luck Romo will be able to play all 16 games and take the team on a deep playoff run. As the talent behind him is a significant drop off.

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