2016 Mid-Season Update: Storylines - tubaSimulator's Dynasty

tubaSimulator's Dynasty Blog

2016 Mid-Season Update: Storylines

Posted on October 10, 2017 at 12:35 AM.

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JASON GARRETT BENCH TONY ROMO; QB'S FUTURE IN DALLAS UNCERTAIN

While Tony Romo has been out with injury, rookie QB Dak Prescott has ceased on the opportunity and taken Dallas by storm. The former franchise QB is out, the future is in. So what's next for Tony Romo?

Prescott has completed 132 of 192 attempts for 1,825 yards, 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions and a 5-1 record after Romo got injured. Tony Romo is healthy now but won't be the starter, at least not while Prescott is performing the way he has been lately. At the same time, Romo showed in week 1 that he's still a solid QB and at age 36 he doesn't have the time nor the desire to sit on the bench for too long. He needs to be a starter.

Romo might be thinking about retirement although based on his week 1 play he looks like he still has another few good years left in him. The Cowboys can afford to keep Romo on the roster as long as Prescott is on his rookie contract, although getting rid of Romo's contract would free up cap space to strengthen other positions on the roster. Jerry Jones might be out to get some compensation for his aging QB but he didn't get any trade offers before the trade deadline, possibly because of Romo's contract, age, history with injuries or all of the above. so the interest around the league is luke warm at best.

However, a unique possibility that makes sense and would allow Jerry Jones to get out of a terrible contract he's only made worse over the years with countless restructures, is to make Romo available in the upcoming Expansion draft that will take place after the 2016 season. If the Cowboys release or trade Romo they'll have to take a $14.3M cap penalty next year but if he's selected in the expansion draft, they'll avoid a cap penalty as the new franchise will have to absorb all salary and bonuses in Romo's contract. Sounds like an ideal way to get out of a contract that with Prescott's excellent play recently seems more and more like a huge problem, right?

Well, Jerry Jones might not be so fond of it and not just because he won't receive any compensation for him � although getting rid of Romo's contract could be considered compensation enough at this point. As mentioned earlier, San Antonio and the south of Texas is Cowboys country and Tony Romo is guaranteed to have a lot of fans down there. For a new San Antonio franchise, bringing in Tony Romo could be a great way to attract fans and win some football games in their very first season. A guy like Romo would sell jerseys and match tickets on name alone and could secure San Antonio a good chunk of the market with little effort.

Jerry Jones is not happy about the NFL granting Texas a third franchise. He sees a new team in San Antonio as real competition and giving them a free star QB with a lot of fans in Texas is probably not the way to compete. So, the question becomes, does the negatives outweigh the positives?