ARLINGTON, Texas -- When Tony Romo returned to the Dallas Cowboys' lineup Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the thought was that Matt Cassel would return to the shadows as the backup quarterback.
With Romo suffering a potentially season-ending left collarbone injury in Thursday’s 33-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Cassel could be getting another shot.
He went 0-4 as the Cowboys starter against the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys failed to score a touchdown in two of the four starts. Cassel saw an interception returned for a touchdown against both the Giants and the Eagles. He threw for just 97 yards in the loss to the Seahawks.
“You know anytime you see somebody go down on the field, especially because I know how hard he worked to get back, your heart goes out for him,” Cassel said. “At the same time, your mind goes into action. You’ve got to get ready to go. Obviously we don’t know the circumstances just yet, on what the prognosis is, but for everybody’s sake, we hope he’s OK. But in this situation, you just never know. That’s why you’ve always got to be ready in this position as a backup.”
Cassel completed 13 of 19 passes for 93 yards and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Cole Beasley with 4:23 to play Thursday. He also hit Darren McFadden with a pass on the ensuing two-point conversion.
The Cowboys acquired Cassel in a trade from the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 23 for a 2017 draft pick, and the 33-year-old has been learning the offense on the fly.
With Romo potentially out again, Cassel knows there is pressure, even with the Cowboys holding a 3-8 record.
“That’s part of what you embrace when you become a quarterback is you’ve got to step in,” Cassel said, “and obviously Tony’s been a leader here for 13 years of his career and now it’s time. If it’s that situation, then I have to step up and try to fulfill that role in some way. Obviously you don’t replace a guy like Tony Romo, but at the same time, you’ve got to be you and hopefully the guys rally around you and you move forward.”
The Cowboys should have a definitive answer on Romo’s health Friday. They don’t play again until Dec. 7 against the Washington Redskins, and players are off until Wednesday.
Cassel is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season and has expressed interest in remaining with the team past this season.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Cassel said. “I have a lot of confidence in this team. It’s about getting back to work. It’s about we have a few days here to recoup, take a breath here, spend some time with family and then it’s get right back to Washington and get ready to go.”