Here's the precise moment the Cowboys' 2015 season went up in flames: Week 2, when quarterback Tony Romo went down with a fractured clavicle. He would return in November before suffering another shoulder injury, but by then, the damage had been done. Dallas finished 4-12 with Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore splitting the majority of the snaps.
The lesson: Backup quarterbacks are a luxury but they're also extremely important for a possible playoff team.
Weeden and Cassel are gone but Moore remains, though he's now sidelined with a broken ankle. It was enough to lead to speculation that the Cowboys were eyeing 37-year-old Browns backup Josh McCown.
But following Sunday night's scrimmage that included 2015 undrafted free agent Jameill Showers and 2016 fourth-round pick Dak Prescott, owner and general manager Jerry Jones may have a change of heart regarding the need to bolster the quarterback depth chart.
"I'm more encouraged after this about holding our pat hand on a veteran than before this," Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "As we go along and if we continue to see this kind of improvement and this kind of instinctive play, I can really get comfortable back there.
"Both of those guys played well. It was what you wanted to see. They looked comfortable and they reacted well when you got a little pressure. It was a good outing. It was good for everyone to see. To me that was one of the pluses."
Coach Jason Garrett added: "I thought they handled the situations well," Garrett said. "They were in different situations, some red zone and two minutes stuff that I thought, again, they handled it really well. Not perfect, but they played with a good demeanor. There was a poise and a calm to their presence that I really thought was pretty good, and they will certainly grow from it."
Whether that growth is enough to span the gap from franchise quarterback to inexperienced backup is another matter, and one that remains a concern given how quickly things went sideways last season when Romo went down.
So while Jones sounds like he's becoming more comfortable with the current quarterbacks, there's still a chance the team could make a bid for McCown, even if the Browns are hesitant. Browns coach Hue Jackson announced Monday that Robert Griffin III was the starter, but made a point to praise McCown.
"Josh in particular has been outstanding throughout this process and all of our quarterbacks (Austin Davis and Cody Kessler) have worked well together," Jackson said. "Their play, professionalism and work ethic has pushed the room to really improve the level of play at the position for our team."
And if McCown-to-Dallas doesn't happen -- and should Jones change his mind about Showers and Prescott -- Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot wrote last week that other candidates to back up Romo could include Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon and free agents Michael Vick and Josh Freeman.
