Tony Romo made it clear he would not be a distraction to his Dallas Cowboys when he publicly backed Dak Prescott as the starter for his Boys. Romo fell on the sword for his team so not to rock the boat with a rookie at the helm.
Yet there is no doubt that Romo will seek to become the starter again next year.
It just won’t be in Dallas.
“Something magical” may indeed be happening with Dak and the Cowboys. But there are plenty of teams in the League for which nothing magical is going on. To be blunt, there has been some deplorable quarterback play in 2016.
That means Tony Romo will be a hot commodity this offseason. His contract is below, courtesy Sporttrac.
Dallas is not likely to keep two high-level QBs on the roster. Even though they could since Dak will average only about $600K for the next two years until he can renegotiate his rookie deal.
So what NFL teams could use a stand-up guy like Tony Romo, who has 247 passing touchdowns in his career? Here’s 5 that need an upgrade under center, like right now!
– The Jets were right in not signing Ryan Fitzpatrick to a long-term deal in the offseason. He has played poorly all year, and nothing tells us that Bryce Petty is the future since he was third string behind Fitz and Geno Smith. Romo would be a nice addition to a team with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker at wideout.
– The Browns are not a safe haven for passers, so the fragile Romo may not make it through 2017 there either. But this winless team clearly needs a spark. RGIII didn’t get far enough into the season to create any hope before he got hurt. But the fact that Griffin just doesn’t know how to protect himself is evidence he’s not the answer.
– The Bears need to rid themselves of Jay Cutler asap. He had some nice years, but even in his best days, Chicago was never a threat to win any titles. Tony Romo may not be considered the most clutch QB ever, but he is at least consistent in the regular season.
– The Vikings should still be close to undefeated. But they have fallen into the gutter with Sam Bradford leading the way. Of course, Teddy Bridgewater will be back in 2017, but Minnesota is primed to win a title right now. Romo could be the missing piece to a Super Bowl trophy just in case Bridgewater starts slowly next year.
– The 49ers are going nowhere fast with Kaepernick and Gabbert running the offense. Gone is the QB whisperer in Jim Harbaugh, and Chip Kelly’s offense just doesn’t work in the NFL. The team would be wise to bring in Romo even though his style may not suit Kelly’s philosophy. With the pool of quality quarterbacks being so shallow, it’s the head coach’s job to adjust to what he has to work with.
Teams that could use Romo but have roadblocks to adding him.
– He could stay in Texas by moving on over to Houston. Except for that tiny detail about the Texans giving the woeful Brock Osweiler $37 million guaranteed dollars for 2016 and 2017.
– Denver may have two unproven young guys on the roster, but they don’t need a gunslinger to save them. Elway is just fine with a game manager at the helm, as the best defense in the NFL continues to win games basically by themselves.
Romo created a lot of fans when he put his team above himself. His humbleness was pretty damn refreshing.
Just don’t forget what it takes to make the NFL, much less become a franchise quarterback. Romo still has a lot of pride and confidence in himself. So 2017 could be his best year ever if he lands in the right spot.
Unfortunately for him, the worst landing spots may have the most cap room to actually bring him in.