The Cowboys are remaining tight-lipped about whether drafting a quarterback is on their agenda for the 2014 draft, but former Cowboys star quarterback Roger Staubach isn't withholding his opinion on the matter. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones clammed up when asked about rumors of the club's interest in Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the No. 16 overall pick of the draft, saying the talk was "pure speculation."
"We haven't quite gotten into sorting out the quarterbacks yet, that will come, in terms of finalizing our board," Jones said Monday in an interview with Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan.
Staubach, however, is against the idea of adding Manziel to the mix in Dallas.
"I think Manziel has got great instincts. I think he'll be a fine player, but I don't think you want a Manziel when you have a franchise quarterback," Staubach told ESPN. "(Owner) Jerry (Jones) has paid (Romo) as a franchise. I think Tony is that. He's not the reason we're 8-8. That's my feeling," Staubach said.
If Staubach's logic sounds familiar, it should.
NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt said much the same when speculation about the Cowboys drafting Manziel took off last week, noting that Jones is looking for immediate success that doesn't necessarily mesh with breaking in a rookie quarterback. Brandt also doesn't see Manziel slipping to the No. 16 pick, anyway.
Stephen Jones' reluctance to discuss Manziel as a possibility for the Cowboys is certainly of no surprise; team representatives typically have little to say about prospects publicly during draft season.
That said, the idea that the Cowboys haven't even started sorting out the quarterback position less than 10 days before the draft is a little hard to fathom. If true, that would certainly suggest the club has little interest in Manziel or any other quarterback with its prized first pick, which apparently would be news to Alabama's AJ McCarron.
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