Time for Cowboys to draft Tony Romo's successor
Matt Mosley
FOX Sports
JAN 02, 2014 4:10p ET
Updated JAN 03, 2014 1:17a ET
Editor's note: This is the first installment of Mosley's 3-part series looking at the future of the Dallas Cowboys.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- I traveled to the Valley of the Sun to watch my alma mater play in its first BCS bowl game. But early in Wednesday's Fiesta Bowl matchup, I became enamored with the play of University of Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles.
While the world celebrated the life and times of Johnny Football, Bortles quietly pieced together an outstanding run at UCF. And on Wednesday, he completely dismantled a defense that helped Baylor win its first Big 12 title. Yes, he threw a couple interceptions in the first half, but Bortles never seemed fazed by those mistakes. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns. And he added 93 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
He consistently kept plays alive with his feet and then delivered passes with devastating accuracy. Bortles is shooting up draft boards as we speak, but that shouldn't keep American's (.500) Team from taking a run at him. It's time for the Cowboys to draft Tony Romo's successor. I'm not saying Romo's career is over. But Troy Aikman can tell you a thing or two about trying to return from back injuries. The Cowboys have made an enormous financial investment in Romo, but that shouldn't preclude them from thinking about the future.
This organization hasn't even considered drafting a legitimate quarterback during the Romo era, unless you count a longshot project such as former fourth-round pick Stephen McGee. Maybe it's too strong to say the Cowboys are scared of hurting Romo's feelings, but it has felt that way of times. The Eagles drafted Kevin Kolb in the second round in 2008 even though Donovan McNabb was still performing at a high level. Kolb didn't pan out as the starter, but he did eventually score the Eagles a first-round pick. And the Eagles didn't hesitate to draft Nick Foles when Michael Vick was entrenched as the starter. Now, it looks like Foles has a stranglehold on the starting job moving forward.
Jerry Jones seems uncomfortable even broaching the subject of drafting Romo's successor. He's already shot down any talk of selecting a quarterback in the first round. Some have suggested that might be a smokescreen, but I think it's an owner who doesn't want to hedge his $50 million bet on Romo. This is a quarterback who has now had two surgeries on his back in the past seven months. I know having a cyst removed is completely different thing than a herniated disk, but that first surgery did force Romo to miss a lot of time last offseason.
http://msn.foxsports.com/southwest/story/time-for-cowboys-to-draft-tony-romo-s-successor-010214
