The Cowboys’ first-string quarterback, Tony Romo, is rehabbing from back surgery, and their second-string quarterback, Kyle Orton, has skipped all of the team’s offseason work. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that the quarterback position is the strongest position on the roster.
Jones said that with Romo as the starter, Kyle Orton as the backup and Brandon Weeden as the third-stringer, he feels great about where they are at the most important position in football.
“That’s the strength of our team, position-wise. Tony, Kyle Orton and then Weeden -- we like him as a development project,” Jones said. “We feel good about Tony’s health. His back is everything we would want it to be at this time. So we feel very strong about the edge that our quarterbacking gives us.”
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett agreed with that, saying he was on the field with Romo today and that Romo has progressed to the point where he can drop back and throw.
“We’re really just working day by day through his rehab, he’s done an excellent job in his rehab,” Garrett said.
As for Orton, Garrett said that in a perfect world he’d prefer for Orton to participate in offseason work, but he believes Orton will show up when it’s a job requirement.
“We expect Kyle to be here at some point in the offseason,” Garrett said. “These are not mandatory workouts and meetings that we’re involved in right now. There is a mandatory minicamp toward the end of the offseason program. We anticipate him and all our players to be there for that.”
Asked whether the Cowboys will use a draft pick -- maybe even a first-round pick -- on a quarterback, Jones declined to answer. But he did say that he doesn’t think the Cowboys need any more quarterbacks. Jones likes the ones they have.