The Dallas Cowboys are in search of a veteran backup quarterback for a second consecutive offseason and again have interest in free agent Josh McCown, sources said.
McCown, who is from Jacksonville, Texas, and played in college at SMU and Sam Houston State, would welcome a homecoming and has told teams he wants to continue his NFL career despite turning 38 in July.
McCown was released by the Browns earlier this month after spending the last two seasons in Cleveland. Since Arizona drafted McCown in the third round in 2002, he's played for nine different NFL teams. He has a career passer rating of 78.2 with 76 career touchdown passes and 69 interceptions.
The Cowboys also had interest in McCown early in training camp last year after backup Kellen Moore fractured his ankle, leaving Dak Prescott and Jameill Showers as the team's quarterback options behind Tony Romo at the time.
Cleveland wanted too much in a trade for McCown a year ago, and the Cowboys stood pat. The Cowboys also had interest in adding quarterback Nick Foles, but again didn't bite. They instead allowed Prescott and Showers to compete in training camp, with Prescott developing quickly, and eventually signed Mark Sanchez as the backup the first week of the season after Romo suffered a fractured back.
Last offseason, the Cowboys had free agent interest in Chase Daniel and Colt McCoy as potential backup options behind Romo but backed off once their market climbed too high.
The Cowboys are again looking to sign a backup at a reasonable price and won't overpay while needing to upgrade the defense and address their 18 unrestricted free agents.
McCown has gained respect around the league as a reliable backup quarterback who can be a mentor for a young starter. Since his release from Cleveland, McCown has had initial talks with eight teams. He's free to sign with any team before free agency opens March 9 but plans to be patient.
The Cowboys aren't expected to re-sign Sanchez, but have other options for a backup quarterback behind Prescott in 2017. They could re-sign Moore, who is also set to become an unrestricted free agent, or again turn to the mid-rounds of the draft in April like they did a year ago when they selected Prescott late in the fourth round.
Regardless, they first have to say goodbye to Romo. The Cowboys are expected to release Romo _ likely within the next two weeks _ and some of the pieces could fall into place this week with NFL teams gathering in Indianapolis for the scouting combine.
The Cowboys can free up $5.1 million in salary cap space in 2017 by trading or releasing Romo. If they designate him a post-June 1 cut, the club would save $14 million in space in 2017 with Romo counting $10.7 million against the cap this year and $8.9 million in 2018. But if they go that route, Romo's $24.7 million cap hit will remain on the books through June 1.
