Tony Romo isn’t exactly riding off into the sunset, but history will smile more on the perpetually underrated quarterback than the narrative ever did.
The long-time face of the Dallas Cowboys franchise is stepping away from football and going into broadcasting, reports revealed on Tuesday.
Romo’s decision has less to do with his effectiveness at the age of 37 – which he’ll turn on April 21 – and everything to do, it seems, with health. His season this past year was all but ended by a fractured back in August, while a collarbone injury limited him to four games in 2015.
When Romo was ‘healthy’ enough to be under centre, it always felt as if he was dealing with something painful and gutting through it. He wasn’t as fragile as many remember him to be throughout his career, but towards the tail end it’s hard to argue there weren’t constant fears he couldn’t stay on the field.
So no one can blame Romo for calling it quits now. He won’t have to worry about avoiding a pass rush from monster defensive lineman in the TV booth – unless Michael Strahan inexplicably loses his mind – and can spend as much time as he wants with his family.
I guess it's time to start dressing up. #CBS pic.twitter.com/GseSRiyNOo
— Tony Romo (@tonyromo) April 4, 2017
And yet, the door is very much ajar for Romo to make a return and for him to come out of retirement as soon as this season.
This isn’t a case of a player being forced out of the league for being over the hill. He was forced out by Dallas, yes, but there are plenty of teams that could use his services. Houston and Denver immediately come to mind. Hell, it seemed as if the Texans were positioning themselves to hand Romo the reins at the start of free agency.
Neither team were willing to trade any assets of value for him and his exorbitant cap hit of $24,700,000 in 2017, while the Cowboys didn’t want to waive him and be left with $19.6 million in dead cap money. So if Romo was already considering retirement, teams playing possum over him might have helped him reach his decision.
Now, with Dallas expected to release him after June 1 to soften the cap hit and have him count for $10.7m this season, teams won’t be constrained from pursuing Romo.
#ThankYouTony pic.twitter.com/W9ow8tZyxU
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 4, 2017
If he truly still has the itch to play, a change of heart in the summer makes the most sense. As a quarterback who’d likely be on a new team, training camp reps to get familiar with the offence and receivers would be beneficial. Considering that winning would be at the top of the list for getting back on the field, it’s only logical for Romo to give himself and his team the best chance for success by getting the offseason under his belt.
That said, a return in the middle of the season is also plausible. Maybe Romo wants to wait and see how the landscape shifts before committing. Whatever the case, the ball would be in his court for what he wants to do.
If this actually is the end of Romo the quarterback, it’s about time we give him his due.
We’ll never consider him in the same tier as Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers as of the best of his generation, but he was one tier below and much better than many believed him to be.
Let’s pick apart the perceived flaws in Romo’s career. Chief among them was his lack of clutch play, mostly stemming from his infamous botched hold on the potential game-winning field goal over Seattle in the 2007 playoffs. Yet Romo ranks 14th all-time with 25 fourth-quarter comebacks and 17th with 30 game-winning drives.
NFL players react to the news of @tonyromo's retirement: https://t.co/dCtfYaG28t pic.twitter.com/abzN7RRsft
— NFL (@NFL) April 4, 2017
Was he brittle towards the end? Yes, but he also played at least 15 games in seven of his 11 seasons as a starter and as previously mentioned, played hurt quite often. You can’t question his toughness.
The only knock on him is his 2-4 record in the playoffs and not winning a ring. It’s a team sport, however, and even if you want to blame Romo for the Cowboys’ shortcomings when it mattered, he undoubtedly exceeded expectations as an undrafted player.
The Hall of Fame likely won’t come calling, but it shouldn’t need to for us, as a collective, to finally ditch the Romo stigma and appreciate him for the efficient quarterback he was or perhaps still is.
