Tony Romo Trade Rumors Dead Again? Cowboys To Release Romo, Texans Could Sign

After Tony Romo trade rumors started up again a few days ago, it now appears that the Dallas Cowboys will release the former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback. While nothing has been made official just yet, it appears that it’s the move the team will make based on the lack of trade options available. It also will allow Romo to play for the team he chooses to sign with or to retire and find another line of work if he decides football is no longer part of his plans. However, an end to all of the Romo rumors may not come anytime soon based on recent reports.

Sporting News reported on Saturday that ESPN‘s Adam Schefter broke the Romo news, saying it would be a “major upset” if Dallas were able to trade Romo to another team. When the Cowboys release Romo, it will help them to save $5.1 million against the salary cap. The team had originally been fielding trade offers because the organization realized that the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos both had a strong interest in acquiring Romo for their team.

Based on recent trade moves, the Houston Texans seem like they could be a frontrunner to land Romo. The team traded away their starting quarterback Brock Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns along with a 2017 fourth-round pick and 2018 second-round pick in the NFL Draft. In exchange, the Texans picked up the Browns’ fourth-round pick this year and also freed up the space to sign the veteran Romo to their team.

Many analysts have also said that the Houston Texans would be a good fit for Tony Romo. The team is located close to where Romo and his family are now, have good offensive weapons, and an offensive-minded coach. In addition, they had the No. 11-ranked offensive line heading into the 2016 NFL season, according to Pro Football Focus, which would give Romo great protection. The Texans were also competitive in the postseason and seemed like they could be serious contenders if they got their quarterback situation straightened out.

The other team that has been linked to the Dallas Cowboys quarterback in all these Tony Romo trade rumors is the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were also recently mentioned in NFL trade rumors to send their quarterback Trevor Siemian to the New York Jets. That particular trade rumor surfaced on Thursday when it was believed that Romo would be officially released, but as this story goes, the Cowboys decided to keep him for the time being. In the meantime, the Jets were also said to be interested in acquiring recently released Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

So when might the Dallas Cowboys actually make this move to release Tony Romo from their roster? Well, according to Dallas News Sports Day‘s David Moore, it won’t be a quick resolution. Moore said that “nothing is expected to happen with the veteran quarterback this weekend.” The Cowboys don’t really need to release Romo right away as they don’t owe him any money and having him on the roster hasn’t hurt them in terms of acquiring other players. So that keeps Romo stuck in limbo until the team finally releases him.

Tony Romo can win a Super Bowl without the Cowboys pic.twitter.com/katS9gCmIP

— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) March 11, 2017

Romo will be 37 years old this coming April. The longtime Dallas Cowboys quarterback has been a four-time NFL Pro Bowl representative over the course of his career and although he didn’t lead Dallas to a Super Bowl, he certainly put up some great stats for the franchise. While there seems to be plenty of indications that he may want to return to the football field, there are also some hints that Romo may simply decide to hang it up as a player. Real GM Wiretap reported on Saturday that in addition to the NFL teams interested in Tony Romo, so is Fox Sports.

So once he is actually released or retires, it’s possible that Romo could end up joining other former quarterbacks including Terry Bradshaw, Steve Young, Phil Simms, and Troy Aikman as an analyst or commentator for NFL games. So one way or another, it’s likely that Romo will be somewhere on or near the football field in the coming NFL season.

[Featured Image by Patrick Smith/Getty Images]