Written by Joel Corry at CBSSports.com
What a difference a year makes.
The Cowboys went 1-11 without Romo.
A similar fate was expected this season when Romo fractured a vertebra in his back during the third preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 25. Romo was initially expected to miss six to 10 weeks because of the injury.
Dallas has the NFL’s best record this season at 8-1 without Romo largely because of the surprising play of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and 2016 fourth overall pick Ezekiel Elliott leading the NFL with 1,005 rushing yards. Prescott, a 2016 fourth-round pick, has completed 66.8 percent of his 280 passes for 2,339 yards with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Prescott’s 106.2 passer rating is the fourth best in the NFL.
Jones declared that the team is going with the hot hand, Prescott, after Sunday’s come-from-behind victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers despite his affinity for Romo. The four-time Pro Bowler is expected to be active for the first time this season on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
And on Tuesday, Romo delivered a heartfelt speech at the Cowboys headquarters in Frisco, Texas, and made it clear he would not be a distraction and that Prescott has “earned the right to be our quarterback.” You can readthe entire speech here.
So what does Prescott’s emergence and Romo’s concession speech mean for the Cowboys moving forward? Here are some pertinent questions and answers relating to Romo and the Cowboys’ quarterback situation.
Will Romo start again for the Cowboys this season? There’s a general principle in sports that players don’t lose starting jobs because of injury. It doesn’t appear to be applicable in Dallas because of Prescott’s emergence. Playing time is now largely beyond Romo’s control.
Barring an injury to Prescott or him beginning to play like a rookie for an extended period, Romo probably won’t see any meaningful action this season.
Can Romo and Prescott co-exist long term? Both quarterbacks are under contract through the 2019 season. Romo is scheduled to make $14 million in 2017. His 2018 and 2019 salaries are $19.5 million and $20.5 million. All of Romo’s salaries are non-guaranteed.
Romo has the NFL’s largest 2017 salary cap number at $24.7 million. Prescott is making his league minimum for the next three seasons with $540,000, $630,000 and $720,000 salaries.
Jones could be intrigued by having two starting-caliber quarterbacks in Dallas for the foreseeable future. He would be unnecessarily inviting a potential quarterback controversy. Romo is accepting his backup role for the good of the team right now. Next year could be a different story since Romo clearly still wants to be a starter. The longer both quarterbacks are on the roster, the greater chance of the situation to become a distraction. It’s also harder for Prescott to become a true leader on the Cowboys with Romo around.
A $14 million salary is almost unheard of for a backup quarterback. Dallas would probably ask Romo to take a pay cut from his $54 million over the next three years to serve in that capacity. Top backup quarterback money is currently $7 million to $7.5 million per year with incentives and salary escalators that could make a deal worth as much $12 million per year.
Romo is more likely to force the Cowboys to carry him next year under his current contract or release him than take a pay cut.
I suspect that Romo has already had conversations with his representatives about being traded or released in the offseason if he can’t be the starter in Dallas. I don’t have any specific knowledge of such conversations. This belief comes from numerous conversations I had with athletes in adverse situations while working as a player agent for multiple clients, which include Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle, Pro Bowl wide receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell, and Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio.
There was a tendency for the players, not necessarily the ones I mentioned, to initially think that the grass could be greener on the other side during when venting to me about their circumstances.
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