5 Most disappointing Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
1. Quincy Carter (2001-2003)
For the Dallas Cowboys, there has never been a bigger disappointment under center than former Georgia Bulldog Quincy Carter. With Troy Aikman released following the year 2000, the Cowboys were changing directions and decided to sign Tony Banks while using their first pick in the following draft on Carter.
Dallas didn’t have a pick in the first round due to their trade for Joey Galloway, which meant they had to wait until No. 53 overall to land their new starter but Jerry Jones was thrilled to have landed the mobile gunslinger from UGA. While he was singing his own praises for making the selection, the rest of the sporting world was calling it a reach for Dallas.
Carter ended up splitting time with players such as Ryan Leaf and Anthony Wright during his rookie season and was 3-5 as their starter. In 2002, he was 3-4, this time batting with Chad Hutchinson who had beat him out for the majority of that season.
Things did start to look up for Carter though once Bill Parcells took over. The seasoned coach helped Carter to his best season as a pro as he threw for 3,302 yards with 17 touchdowns and 21 picks while adding 257 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Most importantly, Dallas won 10 games that season and made it to the playoffs. Carter and the Cowboys lost to Carolina but there was finally hope that he could have a successful NFL career.
That hope ended abruptly as he was released the following season and replaced by Vinny Testaverde who was expected to backup Carter that season — they also had Tony Romo as a third-string rookie who might not have survived had Carter not been released.
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It was later discovered that Carter had a lot of demons which included substance abuse. He played one more season with the New York Jets but then bounced around the CFL and Arena Leagues while never really finding himself as a player.
Carter had the talent but as Parcells said once, he couldn’t get out of his own way. That makes him the biggest disappointment the Cowboys have ever had at quarterback.