1 of 10

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The title of "best backup quarterback in football" is not one young aspiring passers dream about as they're chucking footballs through tires. But it's still a real title, and the Dallas Cowboys needed to have that guy on their roster long before Kellen Moore suffered an ankle injury Tuesday night.

He'll be out for three-to-four months, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, meaning his time as Tony Romo's backup is effectively over for 2016. Which is probably for the best because Moore wasn't the answer behind a 36-year-old quarterback already dealing with a stiff back, per Jon Machota of the Dallas News. He's also coming off multiple collarbone injuries over the past few seasons.

Nick Foles might not be the answer behind Romo either. But he's much, much closer, and the Cowboys should have been kicking his tires even with Moore healthy.

So their interest in Foles was inevitable once Moore went down. And as Rapoport noted, it's mutual now too.

"It really seems they're going to have to take a hard look at the veteran quarterback market, and the name to watch is Nick Foles," Rapoport said on NFL Network Wednesday. "There is legitimate interest. I'm told the Cowboys—that would be the name if they are going to bring in a backup."

"They did work on him when the Rams were trying to shop him. There's a lot of mutual interest there for the Cowboys and Nick Foles."

Later in the afternoon, Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones confirmed to ESPN.com's Todd Archer that the team has had talks with Foles' agent (via Rotoworld). There are also other trade options being pursued, but Foles remains the likely solution because he wouldn't cost Dallas a draft pick.

Here's what usually happens when a quarterback is injured for a significant chunk of the season, and when said quarterback is also considered to be among the best at his position: losing, and lots of it.

Oh sure, there are exceptions, and it's here where we insert the obligatory New England Patriots reference to either Tom Brady or Matt Cassel. But winning with a backup generally presents one of the most mountainous tasks in football if he's asked to start more than about four games.

Which is why the Cowboys offense needs someone they can trust to be that short-term replacement during potentially dire times. And anyone with plenty of starting experience (Foles has 35 starts) will make you watch games through your fingers less than if the keys were handed to raw fourth-round rookie Dak Prescott, or Moore with his two career starts.