Will Tony Romo be a Houston Texan or a Denver Bronco this fall? Neither, he has decided to walk away as a player and return as an analyst. Though Romo was easily the most sought after free agent in quite some time, a bidding war and tour of pitches from teams hopeful to snag Romo never even came to fruition.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Tony Romo will walk away from the game of football to become a color commentator for CBS, replacing Phil Simms. Romo was released this week, and decided against visiting with or fielding calls from any teams because he thought it would peak his interest of remaining an NFL player too much.
Had Romo been released initially when free agency began on March 9, there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t currently be playing for a different organization. Many sources believed that after the Houston Texans traded quarterback Brock Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns they would immediately make a run at Tony Romo. Jerry Jones instead wanted a trade.
The Texans reportedly were not willing to give up draft picks for Romo, hence no moves being made. The Denver Broncos were also not willing to offer draft picks in an exchange for the future Hall-of-Famer. Romo requested a release on Tuesday morning, which was granted from Jerry Jones and the organization.
Now that Romo has taken his hat out of the free agency ring, it leaves the Texans with a major hole at the most important position in the game. What in the world is Houston planning on doing now that they’ve traded away Osweiler? After signing him to a $72 million deal last year, $37 million of which was guaranteed, Osweiler underperformed this past season and was promptly traded to the Browns.
This leaves Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden as the depth at quarterback for the Texans. They can obviously draft one of the many talented quarterbacks in this year’s draft, or turn to free agency. The current list of free agent quarterbacks is headlined by Colin Kaepernick and Jay Cutler, both of whom have received little to no attention from potential interested teams. Neither is probably the answer for the Texans.
The Dallas Cowboys achieved a remarkable 13-3 record last year behind rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw for 3,667 yards and 23 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He also tacked on 282 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground on his way to Rookie of the Year honors. Though the team was bounced in the divisional round of the playoffs at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, the season showed Dak Prescott would be the future of the franchise.
Romo now takes on a role he has no experience in; broadcasting. The 36-year-old all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns for the Cowboys will be taking over for Phil Simms, who has been given the shaft by CBS. With several years remaining on Simms’ contract, it seems as though they may be omitting him entirely, rather than a simple demotion or time change.
Though it opens the door to a beautiful future of color commentating for Romo, it closes one of Simms, who has been in contract with CBS for the past two years. Whether Simms is in a small capacity with the hiring of Romo or none at all, he will still be getting paid. Some people took to Twitter to voice their anger for the removal of Simms, while others praised the change.
Whether you hated the guy or tuned in every Sunday to watch him play (when he was healthy enough to take the field), Romo’s departure from the Dallas Cowboys will have lasting implications for both of Texas’ professional football teams. The Houston Texans need to regroup quickly if they hope to remain competitive and the Dallas Cowboys have instilled all of their hope into now second year quarterback Dak Prescott. Texas forever.