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OXNARD, Calif. -- Nick Foles skipped the offseason workouts at the River Ridge practice fields with the Los Angeles Rams in the spring. Could he be on those fields this summer with the Dallas Cowboys? The Rams released Foles on Wednesday, creating an opportunity for the Cowboys to potentially upgrade their backup quarterback spot behind Tony Romo. Will they? Foles was on the Cowboys' list of potential candidates earlier in the offseason, knowing the potential of his release. The Cowboys did not go after the higher-priced backups, such as Chase Daniel or Colt McCoy, when free agency began. They met with Matt Moore, but he opted to remain with the Miami Dolphins.  They worked out all of the top quarterbacks entering the draft, and the Cowboys nearly traded back into the first round to take Paxton Lynch but opted against it. They ended up taking Dak Prescott in the fourth round, but he is not a candidate to be the backup just yet.
As the Cowboys get on the plane for Oxnard, California, on Thursday, they do so with Kellen Moore as Romo's backup. He played in three games last year, starting two, and had four touchdown passes and six interceptions. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has been Moore's biggest backer. They worked together with the Detroit Lions. Linehan was a big reason why Moore ended up joining the Cowboys' practice squad after the final cuts last September. The Cowboys love his smarts and intangibles, but he's just 5-foot-10, 200 pounds and does not possess a big arm. Foles is 6-5, 244. He was a third-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012. He has a 19-16 career record with 53 touchdown passes and 27 interceptions. The trade to the Rams in 2015 did not work out, even though he received a two-year extension worth $24.5 million. He had a 4-7 record with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions and lost his job. When the Rams moved up to the No. 1 spot in the draft, his time with the Rams was through. The Rams took Jared Goff No. 1 overall to be their quarterback. In 2013, Foles had 27 touchdown passes and two interceptions and made the Pro Bowl. He beat the Cowboys in a Week 17 winner-take-all meeting with Romo out because of back surgery. The Cowboys went 1-11 without Romo last year. Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Moore were not part of the solution. While they said the backup quarterback position was a priority for them in the offseason, they did nothing to truly address it. After current head coach Jason Garrett became offensive coordinator in 2007, the Cowboys stocked their backup position mostly with veterans -- Brad Johnson, Jon Kitna and Kyle Orton. The last two years, however, they went the relatively inexperienced route with Weeden, who was eventually released last season. So far they are going with inexperience again in Moore, which many view as odd considering Romo's recent injury history. The Rams' release of Foles, who would offer up more experience at a good age (he's just 27) gives the Cowboys another opportunity to address the backup position.
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