Tony Romo has officially called it a career after multiple reports today have confirmed that Romo will join CBS and pursue a career in broadcasting.
Romo, 36, will be replacing Phil Simms as the top color commentator for CBS and will work alongside Jim Nantz every Sunday during the NFL season. For the first time in 15 years, Romo will be in the booth rather than the sidelines when the 2017 NFL season kicks off in September.
Romo’s impending replacement to Simms may come as a shock, but in an article written in the “New York Post,” Simms talked about how last season began to take a toll on him.
“I struggled a little bit with my health last year, physically,” Simms said. “I had rough moments. I got through them, but I want to enjoy the whole thing. I don’t want it to be like, ‘OK, I made it through the day.’ Doing half the year is going to make it a lot easier, too.”
Simms is an analyst on CBS’s “Inside the NFL,” so time will tell if he will remain a part of the show or if he will give up his broadcasting role altogether.
For the football side of this move, Romo retires as a 14-year member of the Dallas Cowboys, failing to bring a Super Bowl to Big D.
Romo finished his career with 34,183 passing yards, 248 touchdowns, a 97.1 passer rating and four Pro Bowl appearances.
But the number that stands out the most in Romo’s career is his postseason record: 2-4. Romo’s losing record in the postseason is why Fox Sports Analyst and Cowboys fan Skip Bayless was shocked that Romo quickly decided to head to the booth.
“Tony Romo just showed he didn’t really care that much about his legacy, about winning,” Bayless said.
The big winners Bayless said later on in today’s episode of “Undisputed” was Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott.
It had been becoming apparent that Jones was extremely reluctant to let go of the man he dreamed of his Cowboys leading to a Super Bowl and it was clear Romo was tired of being patient and was ready to move on to the next phase of his life.
Prescott now has the keys to the Cowboys offense with no shadows hanging over his head. Jones must now bet on his rookie sensation to lead the Cowboys to Atlanta next year.
The teams outside of the Cowboys affected by Romo’s announcement today were the two teams who were the front runners to land Romo initially: The Houston Texans and the Denver Broncos.
Both teams could’ve been able to knock off the New England Patriots in the AFC had they been able to acquire Romo. The Texans will lead with Tom Savage and the Broncos will have a competition in training camp between Trevor Siemien and Paxton Lynch.
Romo’s focus for broadcasting is in football, but being the scratch golfer he is, he may try to cover golf with CBS some day.