NFL Rumors: Tony Romo To The Jets For Sheldon Richardson?
There seems to be little doubt that with the ascendance of Dak Prescott, Tony Romo’s future with the Dallas Cowboys is nearing its end. The only question now becomes, which team is he likely to be traded to, and who will the Cowboys get in return?
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, as reported by NJ Dot Com, the team Romo desires most to be a part of is a ready-made contender in Denver.
“Romo, I’m told, already has eyes on the Broncos as a possible destination if general manager John Elway decides Paxton Lynch needs another year and that Trevor Siemian isn’t the guy,” the article states. But in the event that a trade to the Broncos is neither desired nor feasible, there are other options available to Romo and the Cowboys.
“Other options, depending on a variety of factors, include the Bears, Jets, Cardinals, and Bills. When the Cowboys do trade him, they’ll still have to deal with about a $20 million salary-cap hit. Romo will have significant say in the matter given that he will need to renegotiate his deal. He, essentially, could veto any move.”
One team mentioned in that cluster is the New York Jets who will definitely be quarterback needy in the offseason if their fourth-round pick from a year ago, Bryce Petty, or their second round pick from this year, Christian Hackenberg sputter. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Ryan Fitzpatrick era is all but over.
What makes this option fascinating is the fact that at the trade deadline this past season, the Jets attempted to engineer a trade to Dallas involving one of their stud defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, as reported by Bleacher Report.
“According to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer, the Jets initiated trade talks with the Dallas Cowboys involving Richardson, but his big contract may be preventing Dallas from making a move. Per Archer, Richardson is set to make over $8 million in 2017, and he also has some off-field issues that may be giving the Cowboys pause.”
That contract issue might be moot considering Romo actually makes more and Dallas will certainly move on barring injury to Prescott. According to the initial report, the Jets were asking for a first-round draft pick, but it’s likely they’d be agreeable to shoring up another need for their team – namely a franchise quarterback in Romo. ESPN’s Rich Cimini confirmed in a recent article that Richardson will almost certainly be moved one way or the other in the offseason.
“He’ll go back on the trading block in the offseason. This time, they’ll get a deal done.”
But alas, that will have to wait as the 2016 NFL season has yet to conclude and both Richardson and Romo are still on their respective teams. While Sheldon’s Jets were on a bye, Romo’s Cowboys played host to the Baltimore Ravens, his first after officially announcing he would be the team’s backup to Dak.
If you wondered if #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott would be affected by Tony Romo on the sidelines… 27 of 36 for 301 yds with 3TDs vs the No. 1 D
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 20, 2016
Romo went on to watch Prescott throw three TDs and 301 yards as the Cowboys defeated the Ravens en route to their ninth straight win, a club record. To this point, Prescott has only lost once, on opening night to the New York Giants where even then, his performance could have been good enough to win. The next time they face the Giants this year, Dak will have the confidence of knowing this is his team to command while Tony Romo can merely wait on the sideline and dream of returning elsewhere in 2017.
[Featured Image by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]
