The Dallas Cowboys are going through a very tenuous time right now with both their star quarterback and star receiver on the sidelines. Tony Romo and Dez Bryant are expected to be out for a while longer and with Romo out Brandon Weeden has taken over as the starting quarterback and lost his first start against the Atlanta Falcons. The Cowboys acquired Matt Cassel via trade last week as insurance while Romo is out and while Weeden is expected to continue to start for now Cassel is reportedly picking up the offense quickly, according to Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News.
Cassel was inactive for the Cowboys loss to the Falcons but there are reportedly many people who feel that he will take over for Weeden sooner rather than later. Weeden was 22-26 for 232 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in his first start of the year but he only completed passes to four different receivers. Weeden has been turnover prone in his brief NFL career (29 interceptions in 22 starts) so far and many believe the Cowboys would prefer Cassel's steadiness.
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that Cassel is working very hard at learning the offense and that because of his experience and how smart he is that it's coming to him quickly. Cassel has only been with the team for about a week so he hasn't had much time to pick things up but he reportedly may be active as Weeden's backup when Dallas takes on the New Orleans Saints in week four.
Cassel has played for four different NFL teams in his 11 year career the last of which was the Buffalo Bills who cut him earlier this season. Cassel has led his teams to 10 wins twice in his career but the last time he did that was back in 2010 which happened to be a Pro Bowl season for him. Cassel's last meaningful action came with the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 when he went 1-2 but threw only three touchdowns and four interceptions.
Dallas brought in Cassel so they could have options while Romo recovers. Neither guy is a long-term answer nor is either guy going to light it up, they are just looking for someone who won't lose them games. Clearly the Cowboys aren't very confident that Weeden could get the job done and that could mean Cassel as soon as week five. Cowboys' fans are really hoping that Romo gets healthy really fast though because neither of their current options inspires a lot of confidence.
