Tony Romo Trade Rumors Over? Dallas Cowboys Quarterback To Retire From NFL, Pursue Broadcasting

The Tony Romo trade rumors and lengthy waiting game have come to an end. On Tuesday, it was reported by multiple sources that the Dallas Cowboys quarterback is set to officially retire from playing in the league. That ends the hopes and dreams of fans of the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans that Romo might be traded to their teams, or sign with them upon release from the Cowboys. It also was learned that Romo is likely to continue working with the game he loves after retiring, though.

According to NFL.com, the news of Romo’s retirement was first reported BY ESPN. It was expected that Romo would be released by the Cowboys on Tuesday after weeks of speculation that there would be a possible trade with one of two interested teams. Now, it appears there will be no trade and no more option of Romo to potentially help lead a playoff-ready team deeper into the postseason.

On Good Morning Football this morning, Ian Rappaport also commented on the big Romo news.

“Tony Romo made the decision after this comes out, after consulting with those close to him, after examining his body and looking at where he is in his career, he decided to step away from football and embrace one of the broadcasting opportunities that he’s had for some time.”

Romo, who turns 37 this month, began his NFL journey in the 2003 season as an undrafted player with the Cowboys. He wouldn’t officially get to play in any games until 2004 and didn’t record his first real stats until the 2006 season when he started 10 of the 16 games and finished with nearly 3,000 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He had what may have been his best season in 2014. During that campaign, Romo finished with 34 touchdowns and 3,705 passing yards, with a 69.9 completion percent, as well as a quarterback rating of 113.2. His completion percent led the league in that year.

Romo was also a four-time NFL Pro Bowler with selections coming in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2014. The major knock against him throughout his career had been what analysts and fans felt was an inability to get Dallas to the big game.

In the 2016-17 NFL season, Romo’s injury situation gave a prime opportunity for the birth of a new quarterback star in Dallas as rookie Dak Prescott stepped in and helped guide the team to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Despite bowing out in their first game of the postseason, it gave the team management and fans optimism that Prescott and his fellow rookie, running back Ezekiel Elliott, will be able to bring the team more success in the wake of Romo.

The saga of the Tony Romo trade rumors involved multiple teams over the stretch of the season. Everyone from the New York Jets to the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears got mentioned in the rumors of where Romo might get traded. Ultimately, it was whittled down to two contenders, Houston and Denver, as they had teams that Romo would want to play for that were capable of getting to the postseason.

Houston even cleared a spot on the roster for a new quarterback. The team made a big move in the offseason by unloading their starter, Brock Osweiler, to the Cleveland Browns in a trade. That had many people feeling strongly that Romo’s new team would be the Texans for the upcoming season. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones refused to cut his star quarterback, still seeming to hope a team might jump at a trade. The NFL owners meetings in Phoenix were a potential deadline for a Romo trade, but those recently passed too, with Jones saying the plan was to make a decision with the QB ahead of the NFL training camps.

That decision has now been made. It appears that Romo could now continue in football by covering the game he loves. The reports of his retirement also indicate he will look for a future in sports broadcasting. Among the interested “teams” in Romo now are CBS, NBC, and Fox Sports, according to Pro Football Talk. Let the Tony Romo sports network rumors begin.

[Featured Image by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images]