IRVING, Texas -- In 2012, the Denver Broncos drafted Brock Osweiler in the second round to be the quarterback of the future behind Peyton Manning, who did not play a snap the previous season with the Indianapolis Colts because of a serious neck injury.

The Broncos drafted and developed Brock Osweiler, right, to succeed Peyton Manning only to see the younger player bolt to Houston in free agency. Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Over the course of the next four seasons, Osweiler played in 21 games, threw for 2,126 yards with 11 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He started seven games in 2015 after Manning went down with a foot injury and had a 5-2 record.

Manning returned late in the season, took over in the playoffs and ended his career with a victory in Super Bowl 50.

The Broncos are not going to see the Manning-to-Osweiler handoff at quarterback because the Houston Texans swooped in and signed Osweiler to a $72 million contract.

So the Broncos got nothing for their investment in Osweiler. They developed him for somebody else.

As the Dallas Cowboys get ready for the upcoming draft, that is something else to consider when wondering whether they will take a quarterback in the first, second or whatever rounds.

Will the Cowboys be developing that quarterback for somebody else?

If you want to believe Jerry Jones’ premise that every move the Cowboys will make in the draft will be with the idea Tony Romo will be the quarterback for the next four or five years, then it won’t matter. If the Cowboys take a quarterback at No. 4 overall, they could guarantee themselves a five-year run with that pick, be it Jared Goff or Carson Wentz.

That would also require them to pick up a fifth-year option on a quarterback with relatively little experience should Romo play 2016-18.

If the Cowboys choose a quarterback in the second or third rounds, they would be locked into a four-year deal and could face a dilemma similar to what the Broncos had with Osweiler.

He was good in his seven-game run as Manning’s replacement, but was he so good as to command $18 million per season? The Texans, starved for a quarterback in a different way than Denver, believe so. The Broncos are now starved for a quarterback because Manning retired and Osweiler left, but they can also look at the Vince Lombardi Trophy they just earned as validation or a way to buy some time.

The last thing the Cowboys should want is to draft a quarterback early, get a little taste of what he can do, have some hope for the future and then see him play elsewhere after spending the pick, the money and the time in developing the player.

Osweiler’s decision to leave Denver gives the Cowboys something else to think about as they evaluate the quarterbacks for this draft.