How Much do the Cowboys Like Dustin Vaughan?

We’ve heard Jerry Jones say in the past that the Cowboys  are not in the QB development business, but at some point they will need to be, and that reality is indeed coming. The question, when will the Cowboys look for a future quarterback. I know it’s probably a stretch to see undrafted rookie Dustin Vaughan as that type of project, but wasn’t Tony Romo that same exact project, to the “t”?

The reality is that for all the potential that Dustin Vaughan may have, this is probably a bad year to try to keep a 3rd string QB. The Cowboys are still in the 2nd year of their defensive rebuild and we’ve already been decimated with injuries and the season has yet to begin. The Cowboys have not carried a 3rd string QB since the 2011 season; however, prior to that, the Cowboys did attempt to develop a QB.

4th round pick, Stephen McGee was carried on the roster as a 3rd string QB for three years from his rookie year in 2009-2011. So, it’s not quite out of the realm that the Cowboys could really like Vaughan and keep him on the 53-man roster. It’ll be tough, real tough.

In order to keep Vaughan on the 53-man roster, they’ll need to go short 1 man at some other position group. They’ve done it before, and usually at the expense of the running back committee.

In 2009, the Cowboys kept 3 RBs and 1FB.

In 2010, it was the same, 3RBs and 1 FB

In 2011, they went with 4 RBs and 1 suedo-HB (John Phillips) This also coincided with Jason Garrett’s 1st full season as the Head Coach.

In 2012, McGee was cut, and the Cowboys had a veteran QB Kyle Orton. 3RB and 1 FB (Vickers)

In 2013, 4 RBs, 0 FB

So, you have to ask yourself for 2014: Will the Cowboys go short at any position? We know it won’t be defensive side of the ball, that’s what killed the Cowboys last year, we didn’t have quality depth and we’re off to a bad start already for this season. We need all the defensive lineman, linebackers, and secondary players we can get, so forget poaching those groups.

We’re back to the running backs in my opinion. Do we keep 3RBs and 1FB? or 4 RBs and 0 FB? In either scenario, I think Vaughan is still out.

The running back committee would look like this: DeMarco Murray, Lance Dunbar, and Joseph Randle w/Tyler Clutts at FB

OR

Murray, Dunbar, Randle, Williams and no fullback.

To me, the only way Vaughan is kept is if we go 3RB and 0 FB, but then we are risking our running attack long term. Murray has yet to play a full season, Dunbar has had some durability issues, and we’re still evaluating Randle. Couple this with a still suspect defense, Garrett wants to run the ball and run it more than we have under his tenure. Plus, I really think Garrett is going to keep a FB on the roster. Murray has had some of his best runs with a FB helping out. Our offensive line and running backs are going to be the assistant to keeping the defense off the field as much as possible. We’re at least another draft class away from stabilizing this defense, so we’re going to need to help them out offensively this year.

Do the Cowboys like Vaughan enough to risk being short-handed in the running game? Unfortunately, not this year. Can we sneak Vaughn onto the practice squad? Who really knows, but teams have had an affinity for snatching up our practice squad QBs before.

First round of cuts will be Aug. 26th, so we may get some clues where this roster is heading.