Tony Romo: Cowboys Still Holding Out For A Trade

Jerry Jones, the famous owner of the Dallas Cowboys, still hasn’t released Tony Romo. Tony’s contract has a team option for next year with a base salary of $14.5 million. The Cowboys will not want to pay this kind of money for a back up quarterback who will be turning 37 shortly. So in all likelihood, Jerry Jones will release Tony Romo this offseason. However, the Cowboy’s front office has yet to make a move.

The hope for the Cowboys is that a bidding war will occur between the other NFL teams that want Tony Romo on their team, specifically the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. Other teams have shown mild interest in Tony Romo but it is clear these two teams are the front runners. Denver and Houston are both known to be shopping for quarterbacks and are both publicly known to be interested in the aged but talented Tony Romo. However, it will be tough for the Cowboys to get much for a soon to be 37-year-old quarterback who has been injury prone the last few seasons. In fact, last year Tony Romo missed most of the season with a back injury in the preseason. While he was out, Tony had to watch from the sidelines as Dak Prescott took over his team and his starting position.

The Denver Broncos currently have Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch as the quarterbacks on their roster but would love to upgrade at the quarterback position. John Elway is known for being hardheaded when dealing with players contracts so Denver is unlikely to pay too much for the old Tony Romo. However, when Tony sits across the table from John Elway to discuss a possible future with the Denver Broncos, Elway could certainly convince Tony to come in a way the Texans could never match. Romo has never won a Super Bowl and has become widely known to choke in the big moments. Tony is seeking to change this and Elway can convince him he can. John Elway won his first Super Bowl with the Broncos at age 37. Perhaps, the same could happen for Tony Romo.

The difference for the Texans compared to the Broncos is that the Texans need a quarterback. The Broncos simply want a quarterback. The Texans overpaid for the very underwhelming performance Brock Osweiler offered last year. In fact, the Texans already traded Osweiler in order to make cap space to sign another quarterback. The Texans felt so strongly of getting rid of Brock they actually gave a second round draft pick and Osweiler to the Browns for nothing in return.

So the hopes for the Cowboys is these two teams will want to trade for Tony Romo and let the competition drive up the price for Tony. However, the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans have both clearly stated that they will not trade anything for Tony Romo. Why would they trade something for him when the Cowboys will eventually let him go?

Jerry Jones is known to have a great relationship with Tony Romo. But if Jones releases Romo early, he would get nothing in return. He would just be a nice guy and would be doing right by Tony Romo. The longer Jerry Jones holds on to Tony the more the demand for a quarterback could dry up and Tony could be left without a team or not well prepared for the team he does eventually sign with.

Right now, it is looking like Jerry is holding out for at least something in return for Tony Romo but in the end, he will give up on the game of chicken he is playing and the Texans will likely sign Tony Romo as they absolutely need him.

[Featured Image by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]