The Tony Romo era is ending in Dallas. The Cowboys will release Romo on Thursday, according to Adam Schefter and Todd Archer of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Dallas designated Romo as a post-June 1 release, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, a decision that will save the club money in the long run. Instead of incurring $19.6MM in dead money, the Cowboys will only take on $10.7MM. However, Dallas must carry Romo’s full cap charge of $24.7MM until June 1, at which point it will be granted relief.
Romo’s exit has been long rumored. After Dak Prescott ran away with the starting job in 2016, few expected Romo to return to the team in 2017 as the backup.
The Broncos and Texans are expected to have some level of interest in Romo and the QB is said to be fond of both teams since they could give him a chance to win right away. The Chiefs seem poised to continue with Alex Smith and apparently will not be exploring a Romo signing. At one point, the Cardinals were linked to Romo, but they probably won’t be going after him with Carson Palmer still in the fold.
Romo probably won’t sign with a new club anytime soon, however, as he’s expected to take a “Peyton Manning style” tour throughout the league, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Manning underwent a lengthy process that involved meetings with several teams before deciding on the Broncos, and it sounds like Romo will embark on a similar endeavor.
Romo, 37 in April, leaves the Cowboys with a litany of franchise records. Although he has not been healthy for two full seasons, he leaves behind an impressive legacy in Dallas that includes four Pro Bowl appearances. In his last healthy season (2014), Romo completed a league-high 69.9% of his passes with 3,705 yards through the air and 34 touchdowns against just nine interceptions. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Romo can do in 2017, but it would be foolish to write him off.
Given the reins during a Monday Night Football game in October of 2006, Romo took over for Drew Bledsoe and guided the Cowboys to the playoffs during the ’06 and ’07 seasons, the latter of which featuring Dallas as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The eventual champion Giants ousted the Cowboys in Round 2, but Romo picked up his first playoff win two years later in a wild-card victory over the Eagles. The Cowboys became known for late-season letdowns in the Romo years, but the former UDFA passer gave the franchise its most stable option at quarterback since Troy Aikman retired. He’s the second-longest-tenured starting quarterback in Dallas history, behind only Aikman, eclipsing both Roger Staubach and Danny White in terms of longevity.
What does this do to the Cowboys cap space?
Allows them to spread the dead money over two years instead of all this year (if they released him today.)
I’d be surprised if it doesn’t end up being a June 1st release date.
thats what the article clearly talked about.
did you read it?
These comments carry over when the article updates. The original story only said he’d be released tomorrow.
They’ll save $5.1 million against the cap.
Cowboys to release all-time leading passer Tony Romo on Thursday
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Romo to become most sought-after free agent (0:54)
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2:21 PM ET
Todd ArcherAdam Schefter
Tony Romo will soon no longer be a Dallas Cowboy.
Credit Espn
It is unclear whether the Cowboys will make Romo a June 1 designation, which would save the Cowboys $14 million against the cap this year, but Romo would still count $10.7 million on the 2017 cap and $8.9 million on the 2018 cap.
If they release him without the designation, the Cowboys will save $5.1 million against the salary cap but will carry $19.6 million in dead money for 2017.
According to ESPN it looks to be a June 1st designation, which as mentioned, will give the Cowboys $14M in extra cap space.
Watch Dak have a sophomore slump this year and Cowboys fans start crying “why did we let Romo go”? Then, Romo leads his new team to a Super Bowl win.
If you have some $$$ to get rid of I’ll take that bet.
Same
Triple that bet
Maybe he signs in Denver then maybe one or both of Trevor semian and/or Paxton lunch get traded that would make things interesting
I see him landing in Denver and Semian landing with either the Browns, 49ers or Bears for a 4th round pick
4th round pick seems like a lot for Semian
A 4th isn’t a lot for him. He played well for a full season.
I don’t think its that bad. Semian still has what, two years on his contract left? And while he wasn’t a franchise QB, he looked solid enough. Considering the trade prices for Garrappolo and McCarron or the actual prices for some of the backup-caliber QBs on the market, I think a team could do worse than trade a 4th rounder for Semian.
Dear Dallas,
Thanks So Much
Love, Broncos Country
not so fast on the Denver talk, he might end up in Houston!
Maybe, but I doubt it. Denver could give him the best chance to win a championship, even though Houston is in a weaker division
I don’t agree. The Broncos biggest flaw currently is their O Line. That’s not a problem Romo wants. The Texans are solid everywhere but QB. Hell, they keep making the playoffs with nobody QB’s.
The Cowboys had arguably the best O line and Romo still crumbled. I’ve been a big Romo fan as he has brought a fun energy to the Cowboys the last decade. But I just don’t see him being able to stay healthy for a full season. Even when he was healthy he couldn’t get the Cowboys to advance to the big stage.
You make a compelling case Hector. Also, Houston would still keep Romo in Texas. The only con is money. Can Houston somehow find Romo enough money to stay given their financial situation? Idk. Thought idk where Denver will get there $$$ given their financial situation and o-line needs. We’ll see!
$127M: Total Cowboys paid @tonyromo for 14 seasons, per @spotrac. $88M: Inflation-adjusted total Cowboys paid @troyaikman for 12 seasons.