Tony Romo Retires From Professional Football
Tony Romo announced early on April 4th, 2017, that he would officially retire from professional football. This announcement comes after injuries kept the veteran QB benched for most of the last two seasons. Romo played in only five games from 2015-2016.
In 2003, Antonio Romo became an undrafted QB who signed as a rookie free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. He spent two years in the background before taking over for Drew Bledsoe as the starter in the middle of the 2006 season. A four-time Pro Bowler, Romo has broken team records for most games with 300 passing yards (46), games with three or more touchdown passes (40), and is the Cowboys’ leading all-time passer with 34,183 career yards. He also holds the record for highest QB rating in the 4th quarter in the NFL.
After a 13-year career exclusively with the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo will now officially say goodbye to football. Romo will always be remembered as one of the greats in Dallas, breaking multiple records and leading his team to several playoff appearances, even though he never made it to a Super Bowl. He finishes his career with a 65.3 completion percentage and with the lowest interception percentage of any Dallas Cowboy QB (2.6%).
His career ends on a slightly sour note, as his last few years in Dallas were unfortunately plagued by injury; collarbone and shoulder issues kept him from fully competing in 2015 while a preseason compression fracture kept him down in 2016. With so many major injuries accrued in so short a time frame, it’s no wonder that his health is the main reason that Romo is stepping down. “After consulting with those close to him, after examining his body and looking at where he is in his career, he decided to step away from football,” Ian Rapoport broke the news Tuesday morning on Good Morning Football.
Now, Tony Romo has decided to try his hand as a professional sportscaster. The 36-year old is expected to replace Phil Simms at CBS, according to multiple reports. Romo’s charming personality and easy rapport with CBS’ Jim Nantz make him an ideal candidate for the job. His ability to intelligently discuss the game and easy-going nature will pair well with the other experts at CBS Sports.
Will We Be Seeing Romo On The Field Again?
A couple of statements from the former QB have many experts believing that although he’s hung up his jersey, this “retirement” might not be permanent. In the November press conference where he handed control of the team over to Prescott, Romo also said “if you think for a second I don’t want to be out there, then you probably never felt the pure ecstasy of competing and winning. This hasn’t left me. In fact, it may burn now more than ever.” While we’ve come a long way from last November, Romo probably still hasn’t lost that drive to compete.
Even in his official parting statement to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Romo stated that his choice was to step away “for now.” Could this mean Romo wants to go back later? ESPN’s Adam Schefter was informed by one NFL Exec that “[he] is now every team's emergency backup QB in case your starter gets hurt, pay him to come out of 'retirement.'” So who knows, SportsBettingStates.com thinks we might just be seeing Romo suit up for another team sometime in the coming season.