According to a report from ESPN’s Ed Werder, Romo expects to be released, not traded.
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Romo will turn 37 in April, but still thinks he has some juice left in him to quarterback a team through a couple more seasons.
Had he been traded for, any team would’ve been obliged to take on his $24.7 million salary for 2017 – escalating to $25.2 million in 2018 – now the highest cap hit in the NFL. If the Cowboys release him before June 1, though, it would cost them $19.6 million in cap space in 2017 alone. They blew their chance at Carson Wentz last season, they won’t make the same mistake two years in a row. He is prone to injuries, and that is the main reason why he lost the starting job in Dallas, but healthy Romo behind a good offensive line is a Super Bowl material. They now have Kirk Cousins, but if they thought they could land Romo, maybe they trade Cousins or let him walk, and then move on to Romo.
Another complication in the Cowboys trading Romo is the sentimental value. A release may put Cowboys West, the Denver Broncos, back into play.
Think about it – had the quarterback play superior rather than abysmal against the New England Patriots in the divisional round, this TEAM WOULD’VE WON THAT GAME. Romo, like Peyton Manning in 2012, will be able to choose his new team. The only other option would be the Chiefs, but they have never wavered in their support of Alex Smith despite mixed results.
Florio also writes of reports from PFT and elsewhere that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Romo would work out a “wink-nod” arrangement that Romo, if released, wouldn’t sign with the Cowboys hated rival and possibly quarterback-needy Washington Redskins.
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The Jaguars are still in Blake Bortles’ rookie contract and the third-year QB regressed along with his team in 2016. Romo is still under contract with the Cowboys, making a potential deal hard to consider until he is either put on the trade block or released. “We’re just going to see it as it comes”.
