The Tony Romo trade rumors are moving full steam ahead and also appear to be eclipsing a lot of the ongoing NFL Draft speculation. There have been a few silly rumors involving teams giving up one of the top draft picks in exchange for Romo, including football prospect Myles Garrett of Texas A&M begging for Jerry Jones to make the deal with the Browns. However, it’s starting to look more and more like Romo will wind up in one of a very short list of locations, based on where he fits best, who has the resources to get him, and of course, whether or not Tony Romo wants to be a part of the team.
In a report on Thursday via the NFL site, the website suggested that Romo won’t be traded but will instead be cut by the Dallas Cowboys . The article also goes on to speculate that the Chicago Bears will release their own longtime quarterback Jay Cutler, who might end up heading to the New York Jets. Meanwhile, Romo would become the heir to Cutler’s quarterback position in the Windy City. The biggest downside to this situation for Romo is that he would be headed to a team that is pretty much lacking in talent right now. The Bears are among the teams with a top five draft pick in the coming months, but after that, it’s not an ideal situation for Romo, a quarterback towards the tail end of his career.
There are two teams that rank as the top destinations for Tony Romo, according to a video clip at Bleacher Report . Chris Simms says the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans have weapons on the offensive side, pretty good offensive lines and pretty good defenses, with the Houston Texans defense a “notch up from Kansas City.”
“Houston and Kansas City are Super Bowl caliber teams, not just playoff caliber. I mean we saw the Houston Texans, what they did against the New England Patriots. If they just had a middle of the road quarterback, they might beat New England up their in the divisional playoff game.”
When it comes down to it, though, Simms believes Kansas City is the No. 1 location for Romo to end up. He believes the team has a better coach for Romo in Andy Reid who has always made the offensive line play crucial. The Chiefs also have more weapons and ways to “make life easier” on Romo with a great rushing game and receiving threats. They include running back Spencer Ware, along with receivers Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
Of them, Kelce ranked at No. 12 this past season in terms of receiving yards with 1,125 total yards on 85 receptions, while Hill tallied 593 yards on 61 receptions in his rookie season. The duo accounted for 10 of the Chiefs’ touchdowns this season as well. It makes sense for Romo as the emerging rookie receiver and their veteran star, as well as their running back, gives him the offense he needs to compete for that Super Bowl title that has eluded him. It would also mean that the Chiefs decide to move on from Alex Smith.
As mentioned above, Romo has to want to play for the particular team. If he is released by the Dallas Cowboys, it will give the veteran quarterback his choice of where he ultimately wants to sign, or he may just retire. The Chicago Bears are not the ideal location Romo wants to be in, just based on the cold weather, distance from his family’s current area in Texas, and lack of ability to win. The Chiefs and Texans both make sense as potential contenders right now if Romo joins them. Houston makes more sense from a location standpoint, while Kansas City makes more sense over Houston in terms of bringing Romo on board.
As the Houston Chronicle ‘s Brian T. Smith reported earlier this month, Texans owner Bob McNair went on record saying the QB position needs to improve but only based on what the team already has.
“We need better performance out of that position. The challenge is trying to figure out what we can do with what we’ve got. We thought that we had it, and it didn’t quite measure up.”
The Texans infamously made a big deal with quarterback Brock Osweiler who left the Denver Broncos for Houston. However, Osweiler failed to live up to the lofty expectations that the team and its fans may be placing upon him. McNair may want to reconsider his statement in lieu of bringing in Tony Romo for a potential run at the Super Bowl next season, as he could be the missing ingredient they needed against the New England Patriots. Otherwise, McNair’s loss could be the Kansas City Chiefs’ gain, if they decide to part ways with Alex Smith in favor of a new look with Tony Romo.
The new NFL season officially begins on September 7, 2017, so expect Tony Romo to either have a new uniform or to start officially enjoying his retirement days.
[Featured Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]