March 08, 2017
Over the last decade, Philadelphia Eagles fans have reveled in Tony Romo's late-game and late-season failures, most notably his botched hold on a field goal against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs way back in 2006. Or if you prefer, how about the 44-6 beat-down of the Cowboys in 2008?
However, the reality was that Romo has easily been a top 10 NFL quarterback over that span, and a formidable foe for the Eagles. According to Adam Schefter and Todd Archer of ESPN, Romo will no longer play for Dallas, and the Cowboys won't even get any trade compensation in return, as many in league circles expected.
Cowboys are releasing Tony Romo on Thursday, sources tell @toddarcher and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2017
Let the Romo recruiting in Houston and Denver begin.
Romo was scheduled to count for $24.7 million against the Cowboys' cap in 2017. By releasing him, he'll count for $19,600,000 in dead money against their cap in 2017. The Cowboys have the option of spreading out that cap hit over two years ($10,700,000 in 2017 and $8,900,000 in 2018) if they designate him as a "June 1 cut," which is likely.
Over his career, Romo had an 11-8 record against the Eagles, including a playoff win in the "Air Guitar game" in 2009. As noted in Schefter's tweet, it is anticipated that the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos will have the most interest in Romo once he is free.
Last season, Romo played in one game, or more accurately, one drive, which occurred in the Eagles-Cowboys meaningless Week 17 game. The Cowboys scored on that drive, and Romo looked surprisingly good, surgically leading his team down the field for a touchdown.
The Cowboys will turn the franchise over to young Dak Prescott, who starred as a rookie in 2016, thus leading to Romo's departure.
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