After a miserable two seasons in Cleveland, Brandon Weeden will try to revive his career as a backup in Dallas.
The Cowboys have signed Weeden to a two-year contract, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.
The Browns chose Weeden in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft and handed the starting job to him, but he did not deliver: As a rookie he passed for 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and had a passer rating of just 72.6. In 2013, Weeden was in some respects even worse: His passer rating declined slightly, to 70.3, and the Browns’ offense was more effective with both Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell running it than with Weeden at the helm.
In Dallas, Weeden will get some time to learn the pro game without the pressure to start. As of now, Weeden is third on the depth chart behind both Tony Romo and Kyle Orton.
The Cowboys may think Weeden has what it takes to develop into a starter eventually, but at age 30, Weeden doesn’t have a lot of time to get better. Weeden played five years of minor league baseball before playing college football, so he’s much older than most second-year quarterbacks. The Cowboys may see some promise in Weeden, but he’s a long shot to ever be an NFL starter again.