Tony Romo Denver Broncos Rumors: Are Latest NFL Rumors On Dallas Cowboys False?

Tony Romo-Denver Broncos rumors took an interesting turn on Sunday night, March 26. For months, a Romo trade to the Broncos has been a part of NFL rumors, with the team looking to acquire a new quarterback during the offseason. With the Dallas Cowboys motivated “sellers” on the market, it seemed like a scenario that would take very little to come to a conclusion. Broncos general manager John Elway threw some cold water on the whole situation in a radio interview that may has many NFL analysts discussing his quotes on Monday morning, March 27, talk shows.

“We’ve been here all week and [Tony Romo’s] name never came up.”

That is a direct quote from John Elway about the time he has spent with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over the past week. A report by NBC Sports went a step further, suggesting that there is no deal on the horizon with any team, because Jones doesn’t want to see Romo play during the 2017 NFL season. The Houston Texans are another rumored destination and a team that could offer Romo a free agent contract if the Cowboys decided to release him. If Jones fears the Texans constructing a Romo contract, he isn’t likely to release the veteran quarterback any time soon.

The Tony Romo-Houston Texans rumors make a lot of sense for both sides of the equation. Earlier in the NFL offseason, the Texans traded quarterback Brock Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns, clearing not just Osweiler from the roster, but a lot of salary off the books. Now the Texans have a gap at the starting quarterback position that needs to be filled before training camp. The 2017 NFL Draft certainly holds a few stop-gap options, but the familiarity that local fans have with Romo could make him an easy “sell” by the front office.

Tony Romo’s contract is a bad one for any team. In addition to earning $14 million this season, Romo will also earn $19.5 million in 2018, and then $20.5 million in 2019. This has made moving him a very difficult prospect for the Dallas Cowboys, despite what NFL rumors might have seemed to indicate. That Romo contract would stay in place if another team were to acquire him through a trade, which makes any transaction a huge stretch for the Cowboys to expect. The contract may not even matter if Jones doesn’t seriously consider trading him.

While it’s certainly possible the Cowboys could trade Romo to the Texans, Jerry Jones has shown no real inclination to pulling that trigger. That’s one of the worst kept secrets in the league, which has allowed the Tony Romo-Denver Broncos trade rumors to fester amid articles from NFL analysts and fans on social media. A potential problem could be that Jones fears what could happen in that situation as well.

Every owner in the NFL had to watch as Peyton Manning left the Indianapolis Colts to win a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. That could happen all over again if the Broncos were able to bring on a veteran QB like Romo and put him on a roster that already has Pro Bowl players at many other positions. It would also become a nightmare scenario for Jones, who has been in Romo’s corner for his entire NFL career.

At the beginning of March, it seemed like all Dallas Cowboys rumors were pointing towards Romo getting released. Jerry Jones spoke about it, reporters wrote stories on it, and nearly every owner in the league knew that the veteran quarterback was about to hit free agency. Only it never happened. Instead, Jones has continuously dragged his feet about making a final decision public, possibly with the intent to keep Romo until the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos have new options in place. That might be when Tony Romo finally gets released, possibly causing him to turn to broadcasting instead of a backup role.

[Featured Image by Otto Greule, Jr./Getty Images]