mr.jameswoods said:
This is what fails to make sense and something anti-Carter fans can never answer.
If you are afraid of losing a guy for 4 games, why would you make him miss 16 games by cutting him from your team?
That's why I think it ultimately came down to the Cowboys wanting to start Vinny Testaverde and not deal with a potential QB controversy with Carter on the bench more than it did with just drugs.
We have dealt with drug abusers before....Leon Lett anyone. If Carter would have been as good as Leon Lett, there is no way we cut him.
Let's admit why Carter was cut. He was cut because Parcells wanted a guy who was familiar with his system and was more accurate, efficient and intelligent at reading defenses.
The relapse was just the greenlight Parcells and Jones were looking for if it indeed happened.
You said it yourself. Carter was expendable. I don't think it had so much to do with Parcells "wanting" to start Testaverde, but with him in place, he felt he had a quarterback equally as good (for the lack of a better term) as Carter. I'd agree that if Carter were a two-time MVP, he wouldn't have been released.
Also, the difference with Lett, and Lawrence Taylor for that matter, is their positions. As important as those players were, I don't think Parcells would ever allow himself to trust a player with drug problems at the quarterback position.
And I don't think we were so much "afraid" of Carter missing four games as we were the potential impact that could cause on a team midseason. Granted, some may argue it hurt momentum by cutting him during camp, but what if the team was 5-3 and our starting quarterback is suspended for a quarter of the year? At least as it was, we essentially had all camp, preseason and the regular season to prepare with Vinny. I think having a starting quarterback suspended provides a different blow than even seeing a guy go down with injury. At least an injured player can return and still hold some authority over his teammates. Would Quincy have any respect by his peers if, as a quarterback, he were suspended?