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Tony Romo is expected to be officially released by the Dallas Cowboys today. But it appears he won’t be signing with another team. NFL insider Adam Schefter reports Romo is going to enter broadcasting upon his exit from the game.
Romo's decision came down to his health, sources close to the situation told ESPN. Turning 37 years old on April 21, Romo believes his family and his health are paramount at this time in his life. He was limited to playing in just parts of five games over the last two seasons because of collarbone and back injuries, and he suffered a compression fracture in his back last August that led to him ultimately giving way to Dak Prescott.
He now will get to spend more time with his family while still retaining a strong connection to the game he loves. Romo spent the last several weeks working through this decision, sources told ESPN.
Romo already has informed Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of his decision to step away from the game for now, sources said. The networks courting him also are aware.
It was never believable that the Cowboys were going to be able to trade Romo, but it was expected teams like the Texans and Broncos would have had interest in him if he was a free agent. He’ll be available to sign with any team if/when the Cowboys release him, but it appears Romo’s playing career is done.
If Romo truly never plays again, his last game will be marked down as a Cowboys loss to the Eagles. Philadelphia defeated Dallas by a final score of 27-13 on New Year’s Day this year. Romo actually performed well in limited playing time but shut up because the Cowboys still lost.
Romo made his first start for Dallas all the way back in 2006. He went 11-8 in 19 career games against the Eagles. Now the Cowboys will move forward with the 23-year-old Dak Prescott as their starter.
It’ll be interesting to see which broadcast team Romo ends up on. Maybe he’ll be calling Eagles games some day soon. I think he’ll actually do a good job, but that’ll be weird.