Jerry Jones has been busy trying to reinvent the NFL wheel.
Except that the wheel doesn't need reinventing.
The Cowboys have been to a record eight Super Bowls. A draft pick at quarterback has taken them each time. Whether it was Craig Morton in 1971, Roger Staubach four more times in the 1970s or Troy Aikman three times in the 1990s, the Cowboys made the investment in the most important position on the football field and were rewarded for it.
If you don't have a quarterback, you don't have a chance. It's the lifeblood of success in the NFL. Morton and Aikman were first-round picks and the Hall of Famer Staubach a fluke 10th-rounder -- a first-round talent who slid in the 1964 draft because of the five-year military commitment that awaited him upon his graduation from the Naval Academy.
That's how the NFL works. You draft quarterbacks, develop them and win championships with them. Some get you there quicker than others. Tom Brady went to a Super Bowl in his second season, Joe Montana his third, Aikman his fourth, Jim Kelly his fifth, Mark Rypien his sixth and Peyton Manning his ninth. Find the right one and he'll get you there. But you have to look to find.
There have been 57 different quarterbacks who have taken teams to Super Bowls. Fifty-five of them arrived in the NFL as draft picks, including 28 first-rounders, six seconds and seven thirds. Those are the premium rounds. Only two undrafted quarterbacks have taken teams to a Super Bowl, Jake Delhomme and Kurt Warner.
Yet the Cowboys have stopped drafting quarterbacks. It's the most important position on the football field, and the Cowboys have elected not to participate. The Jones family last drafted a quarterback in 2009. Since then, there have been 69 quarterbacks selected in NFL drafts. Thirty of the 32 teams have selected quarterbacks during that stretch.
The Patriots have had Tom Brady this decade. They haven't needed a quarterback. Yet New England has drafted three of them since the Cowboys last took one. The Packers have had Aaron Rodgers this decade. They haven't needed a quarterback. Yet Green Bay has drafted two quarterbacks since the Cowboys last took one.
Besides the Cowboys, the only other team that has not drafted a quarterback since 2010 has been the Detroit Lions. But in 2009, the same year the Cowboys selected Stephen McGee in the fourth round, the Lions took Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick. So their money and future has already been tied up in a young quarterback.
Twenty NFL teams have used a premium draft pick on a quarterback, including the Patriots. They took Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round in 2014. When catastrophe struck, and it appeared Brady would be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season, the Patriots had a talented young quarterback ready to wheel out in Garoppolo.
When Denver lost Peyton Manning with plantar fasciitis in November, the Broncos turned to Brock Osweiler. Denver used a second-round draft pick on Osweiler in the same offseason they signed Manning in 2012. Osweiler has won both of his starts, including a victory over previously-unbeaten New England last weekend, to keep the Broncos on a Super Bowl approach at 9-2.
The Washington Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick of the 2012 draft, then came right back and grabbed another quarterback, Kirk Cousins, in the fourth round. Why? Because you can never have enough quality at the position. Cousins is now the starter and has had four 300-yard passing games for the NFC East-leading Redskins.
So the Redskins are two games better than the 3-8 Cowboys with a young quarterback already in place and seemingly a future at the position. The Cowboys have no future at the position. Romo is 35 and brittle with age. He has suffered two fractured clavicles this fall and his season is over after just four starts. He has not managed to stay healthy for a full 16-game schedule since 2012.
The Cowboys thought Browns washout Brandon Weeden could provide them depth at the position in 2015. But he was 32 with no NFL track record for success. He went 0-3 in Romo's absence. When Romo went down with that first busted clavicle, the Cowboys became justifiably nervous about Weeden and traded for 33-year-old journeyman Matt Cassel. The Cowboys became his fifth team. He went 0-4 in Romo's absence.
Twenty-seven NFL teams went into the 2015 season with a draft pick at quarterback. The Cowboys were not one of them. Eighteen teams went into the season with a draft pick on the bench and in the pipeline at some stage of development at the quarterback position. The Cowboys were not one of them.
It's time for Jerry Jones to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and start drafting quarterbacks. Get busy on Connor Cook, Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch. If a team lacks a present, at least give your fan base hope for a future.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges and Donovan Lewis, and follow @RickGosselinDMN on Twitter.