With quarterback injuries piling up during the preseason, free agent Jerrod Johnson landed on a team prior to the start of the NFL regular season.
Bryan Broaddus of DallasCowboys.com announced the Dallas Cowboys have signed Johnson ahead of their preseason game against the Houston Texans on Thursday.
Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram initially reported the Cowboys were looking at Johnson to serve as a possible backup for Jameill Showers in the contest.
Johnson, 28, most recently played with the Baltimore Ravens. They cut him earlier this week, as rosters were trimmed down to 75 men.
The Cowboys are in search of depth at quarterback after Tony Romo suffered a broken bone in his back against the Seattle Seahawks in the third preseason game. Backup Kellen Moore is out for the season after breaking his ankle during a practice last month.
Rookie Dak Prescott is expected to be the team’s starter when the season begins on Sept. 11, but the Cowboys need depth to fill out their roster and practice squad.
R.J. Ochoa of Inside the Star did note an interesting trend among Cowboys quarterbacks:
In this era of football that is built on quarterbacks being taken in the first round, the Cowboys have not succumbed to that pressure because Romo has been so good for a decade.
Romo’s time will come to an end sooner than later because of his age and injuries, but they at least appear to be okay at the position in the short-term future even without mortgaging their future on a first-round quarterback in a recent draft.
Johnson played college football at Texas A&M from 2007 to 2010. His best season came in 2009, when he threw for 3,579 yards, ran for 506 yards and had 38 total touchdowns.
Since leaving Texas A&M, Johnson has bounced around various football leagues, including the NFL, AFL and UFL. He has played with the Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers since 2011 but has never thrown a pass in a regular-season game.
Johnson isn’t going to change Dallas’ fortunes this season, but he is familiar with the area and has run enough practice squads to know what’s expected of him as an NFL quarterback.