Written by Alex Reimer at SBNation.com
On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys officially signed Mark Sanchez, providing them with more depth in the aftermath of Tony Romo’s latest back injury. The Denver Broncos parted ways with the quarterback Saturday before the 53-man roster deadline.
Sanchez fell out of favor with the Broncos after an underwhelming preseason where he got outplayed by Trevor Siemian, who eventually earned the starting job. Denver reportedly attempted to trade Sanchez, but received no interest and released him instead, recouping his $4.5 million salary and the seventh-round pick that was traded to acquire him.
Dak Prescott, 23, shined throughout the Cowboys’ preseason. The fourth-round draft pick out of Mississippi State completed 39 of 50 passes for 454 yards and five touchdowns. In addition, he rushed for two scores on seven carries. With Romo recovering from injury, Prescott will undoubtedly be the team’s starter, although there’s some depth behind him now with the addition of Sanchez. The Cowboys also released Jameill Showers, who was their No. 3 quarterback.
The emergence of Prescott is a godsend for the Cowboys, who are preparing for life without Romo for the first six to 10 weeks of the season. Romo broke a bone in his back against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 25. The injury is a major setback for the 36-year-old gunslinger, who missed 12 games last season with a broken left collarbone. He was also placed on the injured reserve list with a herniated disk in 2013 prior to the Cowboys’ season-finale loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which wound up costing them a playoff berth.
The Cowboys went 1-11 without Romo last season, which puts all the more pressure on Prescott to deliver. The team lost veteran backup Kellen Moore to a broken ankle early in training camp.
Sanchez is a turnover-prone quarterback who couldn’t earn the job in Denver. However, he’s a quarterback with plenty of starting experience and someone the Cowboys can at least win games with, so long as a grinding rushing attack and strong defense leads the way. Ideally though, Sanchez will never see the field in Dallas.
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