While others have mentioned Tony Romo is expected to draw “significant“ trade interest during the offseason, Jason La Canfora reports that it’s hardly out of the question he remains with the Cowboys in 2017.
Sources tell La Canfora that the possibility exists that Romo and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could work out a restructured contract that would keep him in Dallas.
La Canfora points out that rookie QB Dak Prescott’s low salary allows them to afford to keep Romo from a cap and cash standpoint. Beyond that, trading Romo before June 1 would result in a $19.6 million cap hit, which is likely prohibitive.
The Cowboys clearly have strong feelings for Romo and would like him to finish out his career as a member of the organization, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see them try to find a way to hold onto Romo.
The x-factor in all of this will be Romo’s desire to start. La Canfora has spoken to a number of executives around the league who expect there to be a “robust trade market” for Romo with Cardinals and Broncos being two teams worth keeping an eye on.
La Canfora mentions that Romo isn’t going to want to go to a rebuilding team at this point in his career, and it’s unlikely the Cowboys would trade him to one of these teams, given how much they support Romo.
“I think they could get at least a second-round pick for him,” one NFL decision-maker told La Canfora, “or a third that moves up to a second based on playing time. Without a doubt. Minnesota gave up a first and a four to rent [Sam] Bradford for a few years. Even with the recent injuries, Dallas will get value for Romo.”
Romo, 36, is in the third year of his seven-year, $119.5 million contract that included $55 million guaranteed. He stands to make base salaries of $8.5 million (2016), $14 million (2017), $19.5 million (2018) and $20.5 million (2019).
According to OverTheCap.com, releasing or trading Romo would free up $5.1 million in available cap space while creating a staggering $19.6 million in dead money, which figures to be a huge consideration for the Cowboys.
In 2015, Romo threw for 884 yards while completing 68.6 percent of his passes to go along with five touchdowns and seven interceptions over the course of four games for the Cowboys.
We’ll have more regarding Romo and his future with the Cowboys as the news is available.
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