Tony Romo watched from the sidelines on Sunday afternoon as Aaron Rodgers picked apart the Cowboys for 355 yards in the Packers 34-31 win over the Cowboys, which included an insane pass that led to the game-winning field goal.
Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott was impressive in the loss, completing 24-of-38 passes for 302 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Even that performance after a tremendous regular season wasn’t enough to keep some from wondering if Romo, finally healthy after suffering a back injury in the preseason, should have started the playoff game.
On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stood up for his veteran quarterback’s abilities when speaking with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas about Romo’s future in Dallas.
“What you saw that veteran quarterback do in [Aaron] Rodgers out there, Romo is capable of doing,” Jones said, as transcribed by ESPN. “Those are his kinds of plays. And so we’ve got a lot to think about here, but that’s in the future.”
While Jones clearly still believes in Romo’s abilities as one of the league’s best quarterbacks at age 36, Jones reiterated there has not been a decision made regarding what the Cowboys will do with Romo this offseason.
“There’s several cards to be played,” Jones said. “Don’t think for one minute if you see something written or something said about what and where Romo is going to be relative to our team that there’s any credibility to it. There’s only one that can make that decision, and there’s been no decision made.”
Romo will make $14 million in 2017 with a $24.7 million cap hit, but without any roster bonuses in his contract there are no incentives for the Cowboys to expedite the decision-making process. Jones has been vocal in his support of Romo throughout this season, but did take a stand in favor of Prescott late in the regular season when he said Romo would not be brought into a game off the bench after Dak struggled against the Giants.
The other thing to consider when parsing through Jones’ comments is that if no decision has been made, then the Cowboys are, theoretically at least, still accepting calls and considering offers for Romo. In that case, Jones would want to make Romo’s value seem as high as possible to potential suiters to get the most value in a deal for him. Either way, whether they would like to keep him or deal him, it’s in the Cowboys best interests to speak highly of Romo’s abilities right now.
Unfortunately for Cowboys fans hoping the quarterback issue gets resolved quickly this offseason, it appears as though Jones and the Dallas front office are willing to let this saga drag out.
