As long as the Dallas Cowboys continue to win football games with Dak Prescott as the starting quarterback, the debate about what should be done whenever Tony Romo is cleared to play will continue to stir.
Even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admits this is a lingering situation with no real end in sight.
“I know he’s going to be a lot more active during the week relative to how we’re practicing,” Jones said Tuesday morning during a radio interview, referring to Romo. “That’s his plan and that’s what we’re excited about. He’ll be out there really pushing himself. And he has been, but he’ll be really stepping that up. That’s the key.”
Early in the year, Jones seemed pretty confident that Romo would return to the starting lineup when he was ready to play again, but that tune has changed over the past month and a half as Prescott continues to impress during a seven-game winning streak.
Prescott has proven he is capable of leading the Cowboys offense so far, so why change things up if things are going so well? Is Romo being Wally Pipp’d, or for a more modern NFL reference, Drew Bledsoed (see Tom Brady)? Who knows, but the case to keep Prescott has been getting stronger each and every week the Cowboys win.
“Anybody with any sense knows that Tony would like to be playing if they understand what a competitor he is,” Jones said. “The key thing I want to emphasize is we probably are never going to have this totally sorted out. We’re going to play it by ear, play it as it comes. We can do that.”
Romo is under contract with the Cowboys until 2020, so there really is no end in sight just yet unless Dallas can find a way to go all in with the younger Prescott, hope for the best, and find a trade partner to take Romo. This is the NFL, though, so cutting a player is a possibility – although Romo has a cap hit of $20,835,000.
Maybe Prescott will hit a rookie wall at some point, at which time giving Romo a chance to play as the starter is an easy out for the Cowboys. But until Prescott struggles, this QB drama is going to be taking center stage even with things going well, unless Romo makes it clear he is content backing up the rookie.
