IRVING, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys have found Troy Aikman's successor.
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Free agent Tony Banks, who began last season as Baltimore's
starting quarterback, agreed to a one-year deal with Dallas. The team confirmed several previous reports when it announced Banks' agreement on their Web site Tuesday night.
"We think he's going to fit in well in our offensive system," Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said. "Our coaches are excited about getting him in here."
Banks will earn a base salary of about $500,000, fitting the
Cowboys' needs of a starting quarterback at a low price. The deal
also includes incentives that can increase its value.
Jones and Banks' agent, Marvin Demoff, finalized the deal while both were at the NFL owners' meeting in Palm Desert, Calif.
"They have a lot of history and no one thinks of Dallas as rebuilding," Banks said on the Cowboys' Web site. "More or less reloading. That's part of why it's attractive to me. I don't want to be on a rebuilding team. I don't want to have to be the savior again."
Banks, 27, was Trent Dilfer's backup when the Ravens
won the Super Bowl in January.
A year ago, Banks had been considered Baltimore's quarterback of
the future. But he was cut by the Ravens on March 1 because of
salary cap concerns. He was due $2.8 million on a four-year, $18.6
million contract he signed in February 2000.
The Cowboys cut Aikman, a 12-year veteran who won three Super
Bowls, this month for salary cap reasons and health concerns.
Aikman was due a $7 million bonus and an extension through 2007
if he had still be on the Dallas roster March 8. The 34-year-old
quarterback played in only eight games last year because of two
concussions and a chronic back problem. He had four concussions in
his last 20 starts.
The Cowboys have $23 million counting against their salary cap this year for players no longer on the roster. That includes $10 million for Aikman.
Banks was the only free agent quarterback who visited the
Cowboys this offseason, and did so March 6, the day before Aikman
was released.
In his five-year NFL career, Banks has started 61 games. Last season, he completed 150 of 274 passes (55 percent) for 1,578 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Banks played at Michigan State and was taken by St. Louis in the
second round of the 1996 draft, when Cowboys offensive coordinator
Jack Reilly was the Rams' quarterbacks coach. Banks played his
first three seasons with St. Louis, then was traded to Baltimore in
1999, throwing a career-high 17 touchdown passes that season.
The Cowboys had also considered Steve Beuerlein, who was
recently waived by Carolina and is coming off reconstructive
surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder. Beuerlein played for Dallas in
1991 and 1992.
Ryan Leaf was another possibility, but the Cowboys didn't have salary cap room to claim him off waivers and couldn't work out a trade with Tampa Bay.
When Aikman was released, the Cowboys were left with Anthony
Wright and Clint Stoerner at quarterback. Wright started and lost
the last two games last season, and Stoerner was 3-for-5 passing in
his only game last season.
Dallas also had veteran Randall Cunningham last season, but he
met various performance incentives in his contract that made him a
free agent.
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ALSO SEE
Mort Report: Cowboys give Banks fresh start
Salisbury: Cowboys invest in Banks' potential
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN.com's John Clayton on Tony Banks signing with Dallas.
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