I used to be a big Dallas Cowboy fan but I have lost interest. It’s not that I don’t root for Dallas, it’s just that they don’t have any players that draw my interest.

I loved to watch former Dallas quarterback Tony Romo. He was an escape artist and he was deadly accurate with his passing.

Dallas used to have players that were connected to OU, OSU or TU. But the Cowboys cut former Oklahoma State star Dez Bryant and tight end Blake Jarwin from OSU is the only player on the roster with state ties.

I love college football and I usually follow pro teams that have local players.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah are the local players with the Cleveland Browns. I have never cheered for Cleveland. In 2016 and 2017, Cleveland was the worst team in the NFL. They drafted Mayfield, a Heisman Trophy winner, and this year they won seven games – a startling turnaround.

Now, I don’t want to miss a Cleveland game.

I used to feel that way about the St. Louis Rams, who are now the Los Angeles Rams. They drafted former OU quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick in 2010. Bradford, also a Heisman Trophy winner, was the best rookie offensive player in the league and his future looked bright – even though the Rams were a rotten team.

Then he got hurt in 2011 and 2013 and the Rams traded him to Philadelphia. He played pretty well for Philly but they drafted a quarterback and shipped Bradford to Minnesota two weeks before the season started in 2016.

Bradford made the best of a bad situation in Minnesota and set an NFL record for passing accuracy. The future looked bright. But he hurt his knee again in 2017 and played only in two games for the Vikings.

Minnesota let him go to free agency and he signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. It looked like he would be a bridge while Arizona broke in their new rookie quarterback but Bradford got cut.

Someone has said that NFL stands for “not for long.”

No one knows if Bradford will play again but someone will offer him a contract if he wants to play. He has made a fortune and could easily retire.

Landry Jones was a great quarterback at OU (even though he didn’t win the Heisman Trophy). After his junior season, he was projected to be a first-round  draft pick. He chose to return to OU for his senior season and because OU wasn’t as good that year, his draft status dropped.

Jones was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round in 2013 and doomed to play behind All-Pro Ben Roethlisberger, a franchise quarterback destined for the Hall of Fame after two Super Bowl wins.

Because of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players, most rookies are stuck with a team for four years before their rookie contract expires and they become a free agent. That’s what happened to Jones, who was immediately labeled a career backup at Pittsburgh.

Last year, when Jones became a free agent, the Steelers immediately signed him to a two-year multi-million-dollar contract and called him one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league.

This year, Pittsburgh decided they would rather cut the payroll and they released Jones, keeping second-year player Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph, the former OSU star they drafted in the third round last spring.

Jones didn’t play for any team this year although he signed temporarily with Jacksonville, who cut him after their quarterback got well. Jones would be valuable for almost any team but any team that signs him would have to pay a sizeable minimal salary, according to his contract. And Jones has made a lot of money, so he can afford to be picky. If he wants to keep playing, he can pick a team to join next season.

Pittsburgh wants to find an heir apparent to Roethlisberger, 36, who has only one more year on his current contract. Rudolph is the third string quarterback behind No. 2 Dobbs and he didn’t suit up for a game this season. And in the NFL, the third team quarterback sees hardly any practice time with the first team offense. Rudolph ran the scout team this season, which is not a great place to be to developed.

My guess is that Rudolph is not seen as an NFL starter by the Steelers or he would have been elevated past Dobbs already. I hope they don’t treat him like they did Landry Jones and keep him benched for four years with no real chance to compete for a starting job. I think Jones and Rudolph are both good enough to start in the NFL and better than some of the current starting quarterbacks.

The Steelers also drafted former OSU star receiver James Washington and because of his position, he has seen some action. He has a solid future because no team has enough good wideouts.

Dallas worked out Landry Jones during the year but didn’t offer him a contract. If they sign him in the offseason, I will revitalize my interest in the Cowboys and probably watch every game.