IRVING, Texas -- The leash on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel will be shorter this weekend than it has been considering his backup, Kellen Moore, has received first-team snaps this week for the first time.

Traditionally under Jason Garrett’s watch, the starting quarterback -- be it Tony Romo, Cassel or Brandon Weeden this season -- has taken all of the first-team reps in practice.

Cassel has a 1-5 record and has five touchdown passes and six interceptions in seven games after being acquired by the Cowboys from the Buffalo Bills. He completed a season-low 44 percent of his passes in last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Moore was recalled from the practice squad after Romo broke his collarbone on Thanksgiving.

“He’s gotten a couple reps with the ones over the course of the week,” Garrett said, “but he’s gotten most of his work in the scout team and he does a really good job with that.”

Despite a record-setting career at Boise State, Moore has yet to play a snap in a regular-season NFL game. He is more familiar with Scott Linehan’s offense than Cassel is, having spent two seasons under Linehan with the Detroit Lions.

“Everyone loves to play,” Moore said. “At the end of the day, everyone has roles. You do your best with that particular role and that’s how it works.”

The Cowboys have not used four quarterbacks in a season since 2001 when Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf and Clint Stoerner took snaps.

“There’s no bigger believer in Kellen Moore than myself,” Linehan said. “There’s probably a few guys back in Boise and some guys back in Detroit, but I believe in him. But in the same breath, I think our rallying cry is that it’s not just the quarterback position even though the quarterback position has to play better. We made the decision this week that we’ve all got to do better for the quarterback position. If we do that we’ll be able to get this thing turned around and move forward. But we’ve got all the confidence in those guys, whoever we have in the game, to do the job.”