The day has finally arrived.
After months of speculation, the Dallas Cowboys are expected to release quarterback Tony Romo after 13 seasons in the Lone Star State.
Romo’s tenure with the Cowboys was full of highs and lows: from division titles to epic playoff gaffes, the undrafted free agent out of Eastern Illinois will leave as the franchise’s all-time leading passer and a continued point of contention for many fans of the team.
But rather than live in the past, now’s the time to consider the future of Romo’s NFL career. Here’s a look at a handful of teams that could make an offer for No. 9’s services.
DENVER BRONCOS
Trevor Siemian actually had a decent year considering his experience, and the Broncos’ off-season focus should be solidifying the running game and the offensive line, but this match just makes too much sense for both parties.
Denver has one of the best receiving duos in the league in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and the defence is top-notch. Combining Romo with that defence would immediately elevate the Broncos to Super Bowl contenders again.
John Elway and company weren’t likely to make a trade for No. 9, but Romo’s release changes the picture.
Still, Romo’s injury history must be of some concern to the Broncos, whose offensive line struggled in both pass protection and run blocking last season. Romo has played in just five games since the end of the 2014 season and will need to be well protected when he returns.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Despite the fact they’ll be paying Brock Osweiler a base salary of $16 million next season, Houston actually makes the most sense for Romo from a fit perspective: it’s close to home for him, the defence is stellar (and will only be better next season when J.J. Watt returns), and by most accounts the offence could be a competent quarterback away from actually contending.
But, as he did all season long, Osweiler hinders what Houston’s able to do here. It just doesn’t make any fiscal sense for the Texans pay a pair of quarterbacks what would amount to a cap hit of almost $40 million — the reason trading for Romo was never an option for GM Rick Smith.
Romo’s release, however, means the Texans can offer the quarterback an incentive-filled deal that works for both sides.
CHICAGO BEARS
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Mike Glennon will likely become the next quarterback of the Bears on Thursday, pulling in $14-15 million per year as a “bridge” until Chicago can find a long-term solution under centre.
While many around the league like Glennon’s potential in this underwhelming QB market, Romo could still make sense in the Windy City. No. 9 is a proven NFL starter, while Glennon — despite showing promise over 18 career starts — has attempted just 11 passes in the last three seasons.
Bringing in Romo would give the Bears a chance to win right now. Chicago has a good offensive line, an exciting young running back, solid receiving options and an improving defence. Conceivably, adding Romo to the equation could make the Bears a factor in the NFC North if everything goes to plan.
Can the Bears win now with Glennon? Maybe. But if it doesn’t work out, GM Ryan Pace could regret failing to land Romo.
NEW YORK JETS
The Jets were rumoured to be in on the Mike Glennon, uh, sweepstakes, but it seems they’ll now be forced to go to Plan B. If that plan involves Romo it would be a questionable in a lot of ways, but that doesn’t mean it would be a complete shock.
There’s a lot of things wrong with the Jets right now, but a lack of certainty at quarterback has been New York’s most glaring issue for some time. The addition of Romo wouldn’t help that long-term, but it would be a band-aid solution until the Jets find their quarterback of the future — and a very fine band-aid at that.
Most everyone would agree, Romo’s a much better “bridge quarterback” than Mike Glennon.
On the flip side, the Jets are clearly in rebuild mode. They’ve cleaned house, releasing aging and expensive players like Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall and Nick Mangold, among others. Adding a soon-to-be 37-year-old quarterback with a long injury history goes against the grain.
But, the Jets have been known to make similar moves in the past (see: Favre, Brett). Plus, who doesn’t want to see the New York media feast on Romo?
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The quarterback situation in Kansas City has been stable in Alex Smith’s tenure. The 32-year-old Smith is efficient, smart with the football and fits the mold of what Andy Reid is looking to accomplish offensively. But a question has always lingered over the signal caller: How far can a team really get with Smith under centre?
In the wake of yet another stellar regular-season showing spoiled by offensive ineptitude in the playoffs, one can’t help but wonder what Kansas City could do in the post-season with a quarterback who has more big-play capability.
But it seems the Chiefs have no interest in signing Romo, deciding instead to stick with the status quo.
Kansas City will likely be another playoff-contending team in 2017, but adding a healthy Tony Romo may be just the move to take Reid’s Chiefs to the next level.
[relatedlinks]
