News got worse for Johnny Manziel over the weekend as Dallas police announced they would be opening a criminal investigation on the quarterback following a domestic incident with his girlfriend. That is not helping the quarterback's stock in the NFL right now as he prepares to be a free agent this offseason. The Dallas Cowboys were the expected landing spot for Manziel considering their need for a quarterback, but after denying intention to sign him, where does the team look for Tony Romo's backup?
According ESPN.com's Todd Archer, the Cowboys will not be signing Manziel for the 2016 season. While his name did come up in several meetings heading into the offseason, the recent off-the-field issues have Dallas preparing to look elsewhere. Owner Jerry Jones has not been shy about his admiration for the quarterback, but the team simply cannot take the risk and will make other plans to bring someone on in order to develop for the future.
ESPN's Todd McShay believes that option for the future could be Carson Wentz with the No.4 pick in the NFL Draft. Wentz and head coach Jason Garrett spent time together during Senior Bowl practices and he could be the favored selection in the first round. With the backup position a major priority for Dallas this offseason, the team is expected to entertain the idea of selecting someone in the first round regardless of what Jones says.
"There are many options," Jones said, via ESPN.com. "There's free agency. The question you [asked], and I'm taking it literally, is, Do you have to? Have to do what? Do we have to [draft a quarterback] to compete for a Super Bowl next year? Do we have to to compete for a Super Bowl in the future? Do you have to have it in place after you have this draft? There's no 'have to' here, in my mind, because we have the luxury of having [Tony] Romo for a minimum three, four, five years here. So we're going to play football and hopefully play it well with a healthy Romo."
The free agency does not offer up much outside of Robert Griffin III. While former quarterback Troy Aikman believes Griffin will be the quarterback Dallas signs, the draft might be the safer option. Many believe Wentz could be the best long-term option for Dallas as he could really benefit from playing behind Romo for the next stretch of years. The quarterback told the Dallas Morning News he would not mind the move.
"It's a tremendous opportunity," Wentz said, via the Dallas Morning News. "I think we've seen teams fall in love with players at any point during the draft process and this is just the first step in that process. Obviously, a great opportunity for me to show not just my physical abilities, but my mental side of things that the Cowboys staff can see at a whole other level."