“[Jones] wants to make a trade”. Now Jones has come up with a training camp deadline when it really isn’t a deadline.
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But Romo has an option: retirement.
Irvin rejected the explanation that Houston can just wait for the Cowboys to release Romo and give up nothing.
“It’s not the intent to go that direction”, executive vice president John Elway responded when asked about the 36-year-old quarterback, per Mike Klis of 9News. However, it is unclear if a TV fallback is among Romo’s plans at this time.
Two potential employers not bound by such rules are CBS and Fox networks, who want Romo to become a broadcaster with them should he choose to retire. I have every reason to believe that they are. He’s popular, handsome and at least football-intelligent. But he still has some unfinished business to take care of.
So how much longer will everyone be waiting before we find out what’s in store for Romo? If the Cowboys designate Romo a post-June 1 release, they can spread his dead money over two seasons, lessening the salary cap blow initially but requiring them to carry the full $24.7 million charge until June 1. They have two quarterbacks on the roster – Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden, both in the past year of their contracts.
Broadcast gigs aren’t short-term, though.
Not that Jones is obligated to care about the plight of quarterback-needy teams that may have interest in Romo, but this delay is throwing off their offseasons, too. He’s had a great career that’s been marred by injuries the past several years. If he’s good at being a studio analyst and enjoys it, he could turn that into a 20-plus-year gig. In it, Elway said that from the time he arrived in Phoenix for the meetings, up until his chat with Klis, that Romo’s name “never came up”. He is 21st in passing touchdowns despite only being 44th in total passes.
Romo is a four-time Pro Bowler with sparkling statistics in his 10-plus seasons as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. I don’t want to get into anything he’s thinking, but we’re in good communication.
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National Football League free agency is several weeks old already, and while most of the big names are already off the market, there are a few notable players still available. The question is whether National Football League quarterback is the best job for Tony Romo.
