The Dallas Cowboys might have themselves a pretty good rookie backup quarterback, but they’re on the lookout to add another one, but their interest in Josh McCown is probably going to end up with nothing, as the Cleveland Browns aren’t letting the 37-year old for nothing.
The Cowboys, trying to fill in the slot left vacant after Kellen Moore broke his ankle, were looking into McCown, among other available quarterbacks. The Browns want a fourth round pick for McCown, who comes with a $5 million cap hit in 2016, and is probably going to be a backup this season behind Robert Griffin III. The Cowboys aren’t willing to give up that much for someone who isn’t likely to play, and is there just for extra insurance.
At this point, it seems like the Browns are simply trying to get something out of McCown, as they’ve prepared the veteran for a possible deal. Besides signing Griffin, they took Cody Kessler in the draft with the third round pick, and also signed Austin Davis for another backup role. McCown started in 8 games for Cleveland last season, posting a 93.3 passer rating while throwing 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The Browns, however, went 1-7 during his starts. They didn’t do any better with someone else.
The Cowboys currently have Dak Prescott, the rookie out of Mississippi State, and undrafted 2015 class Jamiell Showers, both without a single NFL pass. Prescott looked good for the Cowboys in their first preseason game (losing to the Los Angeles Rams), but the Cowboys want some experience behind Tony Romo, who missed most of last season with two collarbone injuries. Besides McCown, they’ve looked into the possibility of signing Josh Freeman, Nick Foles (going somewhere else), or trading for Mike Glennon and moving in on Jimmy Clausen. They might simply wait for the preseason to develop in order to find someone who performs well but doesn’t cost too much and isn’t on any team’s plans.