IRVING – Brad Johnson isn't coming to the Cowboys to be anybody's mentor.
Johnson, 38, said during a Tuesday afternoon conference call with reporters that talk of him becoming a mentor to starting quarterback Tony Romo should be dismissed.
"I never agreed with that terminology – that term mentor," said Johnson, who signed a three-year deal worth $7.5 million to be the backup quarterback. "Obviously, Tony has [been in the] league four years and had a very good year last year. He has the experience to run with and a year that he can feed off some confidence coming off that year."
Johnson said he understands his role, but just because he's nearing 40 doesn't mean he's content with standing on the sidelines.
Romo, despite four seasons in the NFL, didn't see significant playing time until 2006, and he went 6-4 as a starter and earned a Pro Bowl berth.
Still, Dallas wanted someone with experience backing up Romo for 2007, and Johnson developed into a good choice.
"I want to see [Romo] succeed and I want to see the Cowboys succeed," said Johnson, who broke into the league in 1992. "But I'm not here for my health. My big thing is to be prepared in case something happens. I have to learn the system and, more importantly, get familiar with the players on the team and make it comfortable for everyone."
Johnson spent the last two seasons with Minnesota, starting 14 games in 2006. But he threw only nine touchdown passes with 15 interceptions and was benched.
The last time he was a backup was 2005, but he started nine games that season after Daunte Culpepper was injured and went 7-2 as the starter.
When the Vikings decided to cut Johnson, he was told he could remain as a mentor to the younger quarterbacks on the team.
Johnson told team officials he believed he could start in the NFL.
Denver and Dallas expressed the most interest. And each has a young quarterback as starter – Dallas with Romo and Denver with Jay Cutler.
Johnson elected to sign with Dallas because he has a good relationship with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and receivers coach Ray Sherman. Johnson was Garrett's teammate with Tampa Bay in 2004. Sherman was Johnson's quarterbacks coach from 1995 to 1997 when he played in Minnesota.
"I had a very good connection with Jason Garrett coming in there as a coordinator," Johnson said. "I had a past with Ray Sherman, and I just thought it was a great fit more than anything else."
Briefly: Dallas' two-year deal with kicker Martin Gramatica is worth between $1.2 million and $1.3 million. ... The Cowboys lost defensive end Kenyon Coleman when he signed with the New York Jets. Coleman, an unrestricted free agent, played in 16 games last season and had four sacks and 31 tackles.
