Cowboys acquire veteran QB Matt Cassel in trade with Bills

The Cowboys found the veteran quarterback they wanted in Matt Cassel, completing a trade for him with the Buffalo Bills.

Dallas will swap its 2017 fifth-round pick for Buffalo’s seventh-round in the 2017 draft to complete the trade, according to a source.

The starting quarterback job, though, remains Brandon Weeden’s. Weeden will start Sunday against the Falcons with Tony Romo landing on the short-term injured reserve with a broken left collarbone.

Owner Jerry Jones gave a ringing endorsement of Weeden early Tuesday.

“This quarterback Weeden can drive the ball down field,” Jones said during a radio interview on 105.3 The Fan. “He’s a thing of beauty on throwing a football. His passing motion and his arm, frankly, you won’t see a more gifted passer, power, accuracy, the entire aspect of it. If he can basically prepare, be the starting quarterback, come in and execute and keep his head right, then I feel good about Weeden.”

Should Weeden get injured on Sunday, his likely backup will be Kellen Moore instead of Cassel. Moore was brought up from the practice squad, as Cassel gets up to speed on the offense.

Moore said earlier Tuesday he would be ready if called upon.

“If I’m wearing pads and a helmet on game day, then I’ll be ready to go if needed,” said Moore, who has never taken a regular-season snap.

“Obviously, during the week I’ll maybe get a few more reps on scout team, but other than that, we’re going to prepare the same way.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Cowboys acquire veteran QB Matt Cassel in trade with Bills."