Year in and year out, the sports world wonders if this is the year Tony Romo finally gets to football’s biggest stage, the Super Bowl. The 10-year career of the Cowboy’s QB has been riddled with injuries and heartbreaking playoff losses. Having little-to-nothing to show for 10 years of being at the helm, it’s time the Cowboys get rid of the aging QB.
Earlier this season, Romo fractured his clavicle in week two of the season, an injury that caused him to miss eight long weeks of football.
The anticipation for Romo’s return was larger than ever. The general consensus was that Romo was going to come back and save the Cowboys’ season.
Heading into the annual Thanksgiving Day game, all seemed to be back to normal in Dallas. After throwing three pitiful interceptions in the first half, Romo took a big hit and was writhing in pain on the ground. Reports after the game confirmed that Romo’s 2015 season was done for good.
Watching Romo flop around helplessly on the ground on Thanksgiving was an appropriate metaphor for his career — a painful disappointment. Six of Romo’s 10 years in the league he has sustained an injury. Three of those years, his injury was season-ending. He is more fragile than a tissue after it’s dunked in water. An injury-prone player such as Romo can be a dead weight on a team. Not being able to rely on your QB is a recipe for disaster, just like this year was for the Cowboys.
Another reason to get rid of Romo is lack of playoff success. In today’s game as a quarterback, you are judged by your playoff success. You can throw for as many yards and touchdowns as you want in the regular season. If you can’t win in the playoffs (Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning) than your regular season success means nothing.
In the Romo era, the Cowboys have made the playoffs four times. Of those four postseason appearances, three were lost in the divisional round, and one was lost in the wild card round. Romo’s current playoff record is a lackluster 2-4.
The mindset in Dallas, and in the mind of Jerry Jones, is that Romo is the sun and everyone revolves around him. Even though Romo is again done for the season, Jones backed his QB just like he has done for the past 10 seasons.
“More important to anything, from a mental standpoint, and from the things that also mean so much at quarterback, he’s at the top of the list. So I think four to five years,” Jones said in a Dallas radio interview, when speaking of Romo’s longevity.
Whether it is fighting through another serious injury, or losing another playoff game, what good is Tony Romo to the Dallas Cowboys? Even when he has been healthy, he’s been a solid regular season QB, but when it comes down to life-or-death in the playoffs, that same four-time pro bowler is nowhere to be found. Not to mention he is now 35 years old, which unless you are Tom Brady, you are most likely on the decline of your career.
The bottom line is, the Cowboys need to find a way to get out of the overpaid contract of Romo, and ship him off before he is done for good. The focus should be turned from a rehabbing washed-up quarterback, to the up-and-coming quarterback prospects currently in college. The future success of the team is in the young players, not the old. It is time for the delusional Jerry Jones to wake up and realize it’s time to rebuild, beginning with getting rid of Romo for good.
