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Rebuilding Big D
Troy Aikman's 12-year career with the Dallas Cowboys came to an end Wednesday when the quarterback was released by the club. CNNSI.com spoke to Sports Illustrated's Peter King about the ramifications of the move. CNNSI.com: Where does Troy Aikman go from here? Peter King: The options for Aikman are very, very limited. He almost has to go to San Diego. Most teams right now are not going to want to take on any contractual responsibility for a guy who could last two quarters or two years. Truthfully, Troy Aikman has no idea how much longer he can play. If he goes to San Diego, he'll be able to sit across the table every week from Norv Turner, the Chargers' offensive coordinator and Aikman's former coach in Dallas, and basically say, "I feel good about this, I don't feel good about that." He can control his fate in San Diego. That's where he needs to go. CNNSI.com: What are the options for the Cowboys at the quarterback position now? King: Dallas' best option rests with one of two players. The first is Randall Cunningham -- bringing him back, getting him re-energized and trying to get him through one more season as an NFL starting quarterback. At the same time, the Cowboys can bring in a second- or third-round draft pick, and try to get him ready to be the quarterback of the future. The other option would be to bring in Tony Banks. Banks is a guy whom offensive coordinator Jack Reilly really likes. He feels like he can make a good player out of Banks, where some other coordinators have failed. I think he'll fail, too. I think it's either going to be Cunningham or Banks. CNNSI.com: What does the releasing of Aikman mean for the future of the Cowboys? King: I think the cutting of Aikman can be a cathartic experience for the Dallas Cowboys, for a very simple reason: If they didn't cut Aikman now and then they went and got some of his cap charged to the 2002 cap year, they were going to be crippled next season, in addition to this year. Teams are better off trying to take as much of a hit as they can right at once. Instead of trying to struggle through this year and maybe be a contender, the Cowboys are clearly going to have use this season to rebuild this team long-term. CNNSI.com: There's only one of the Three Musketeers left in Dallas, running back Emmitt Smith. What does his future hold? King: Smith has told me on several occasions that he wants to leave footprints in the NFL when he leaves the game. Clearly, he wants to break Walter Payton's rushing record. Emmitt will be 32 years old in September; he will be 1,560 yards behind Payton's all-time mark. Now, can he get that in a normal year? Naturally, he can. Will he get this behind a retooled Dallas offensive line? I don't think he's got much of a chance at all. That raises the specter of Smith coming back in 2002 to try to get the last several hundred yards at age 33 to break Payton's record. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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