After seeing his first action of the season on Saturday night against the Jets, Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore will get the start for Dallas in Week 16, head coach Jason Garrett confirmed today (Twitter link via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Unlike teammate Matt Cassel, Moore remains under contract with the Cowboys through the 2016 season, so if he can finish strong this year, he should receive consideration for the role of Tony Romo‘s backup going forward.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:
- With his cap number set to increase to $19.9MM in 2016, Bills defensive end Mario Williams looks like a candidate to be released this offseason, particularly after the trouble he has had adjusting to Rex Ryan‘s defensive scheme. While a pay cut could be an option for Williams, he doesn’t sound like someone interested in taking one for the team, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News writes. “If this is the turnout of our defense, how does that even sound right?” Williams asked on Sunday, when the possibility of a pay cut was mentioned.
- Meanwhile, after the Bills lost again on Sunday to fall to 6-8 on the season, Ryan suggested that “drastic changes” may await the club this offseason. Matthew Fairburn of Syracuse.com has the details and the quotes from the Buffalo head coach.
- DeMarco Murray received just two touches in Sunday’s night game against Arizona, which looks like the latest sign that the Eagles may consider simply cutting their losses with the unproductive running back this offseason, says Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Mike Sando speaks to agents and NFL team salary-cap managers about what sort of salaries we should expect for quarterbacks like Washington‘s Kirk Cousins ($15MM per year), the Jets‘ Ryan Fitzpatrick ($8-12MM), and the Eagles‘ Sam Bradford (projections were “all over the map”).
- Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald questions what interim Dolphins coach Dan Campbell has done to deserve an interview for the team’s permanent head coaching job.