By Brandon George / Reporter
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
5:09 pm on April 29, 2014 | Permalink
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach said Tuesday that Cowboys backup quarterback Kyle Orton should be at Valley Ranch working out with his teammates and for him not to be there “doesn’t make sense.”
The Cowboys expect Orton back for their mandatory veteran mini-camp practices June 17-19, but their backup quarterback hasn’t been at Valley Ranch for the team’s voluntary off-season workouts that began a week ago Monday. Orton told club officials after last season that he was contemplating retiring, but he’s become more valuable to the Cowboys considering starter Tony Romo turned 34 last week and is coming off of two back surgeries.
“I don’t know what’s going on there,” Staubach said after attending the annual luncheon for Jonathan’s Place at Brook Hollow Golf Club. “If Kyle wants to be with the Cowboys, he should be there. Anything can happen. Tony could get hurt again, and in the last game of the year Kyle did a good job. He should be looking at, ‘Hey, I might need to step in there if Tony’s back gets hurt early in the year.’ You need a backup quarterback who you can count on.”
Staubach said it’s important for any quarterback to be in attendance for off-season workouts with teammates. Staubach said that despite working in the 1973 off-season for the Henry Miller commercial real estate company inDallas, he practiced every day to prepare for the season.
“So when you go to training camp you know your teammates really well,” Staubach said. “I don’t know what Kyle is thinking. Maybe he’s going to retire. We have to keep Tony Romo healthy all year.”
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