Jul 8th 2008 11:37AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East, NFL Fans, NFL RumorsSo it looks like Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was lying through his teeth when he said he “had a lot of confidence in [backup quarterback] Brad Johnson.” Of course, he could’ve been joking (or just being a good general manager). Whatever, I’m guessing Dallas fans were a little concerned.

Well, some good news on the Tony Romo Understudy position: apparently the Cowboys are in the market for a younger, less brittle backup quarterback. From the ’s Mac Engel’s multiple sources: The current plan is to use veteran Brad Johnson for the second consecutive season to play behind Romo, with former Grapevine star Richard Bartel again returning to the practice squad for another year of grooming. But whereas last year, when the Cowboys liked their slotting of these three, there is more of an urgent feeling to upgrade behind Romo… you know, just in case. And the name currently floating round Cowboys HQ? Chris Simms. He’s 13 years younger than Johnson with one less spleen. Simms is unhappy with his present situation in Tampa Bay and Engel writes that he has told friends he’d definitely be interested in playing for the Cowboys.

If Simms isn’t the guy, though, there’s not much to choose from. I mentioned last weekend that given the dearth of quality backup quarterbacks looking for work, the Cowboys would be hard-pressed to do better than Johnson. That said, I don’t think that’ll keep Jones from trying. You know, just in case Romo has to drive Nick Lachey’s ex-wife to the airport or something.