As the Dallas Cowboys enter the Dak Prescott era, one of the league’s top quarterbacks in recent years has been relegated to a backup role. Tony Romo, who’s costing the Cowboys over $20 million in cap space this year, is quite the costly second fiddle.
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed this dynamic and joked that Romo has set a new record as the most expensive backup he’s ever had.
Jerry Jones joked on @1053thefan that he's spent a lot of money on backup QBs, but Tony Romo sets the new record
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 15, 2016
He elaborated by comparing Romo to Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who the Cowboys just beat in a thrilling finish.
“Seriously, Tony is, look, to even mention a player that I paid a lot for in the same boat as Tony Romo is ridiculous,” Jones said. “You want to see Tony Romo. Look at Ben Roethlisberger put up over 400 yards against us the other day. That’s what you get if Tony Romo comes out there for us.”
Jones also praised Romo for his attitude about being knocked off his perch as the undisputed leader of Dallas’ offense. He said Romo’s been “wonderful about this” and has been “bragging on Dak.”
“He said, ‘Boy, he doesn’t miss a trick and he looks at everything and he just soaks it up,'” said Jones, before sharing an example of Romo giving Prescott advice during practice. “The key thing is the benefit that Dak will get from watching Tony take snaps in practice. That’s as it should be. The big thing I want to say is how much Tony is in his ear. That’s a big impact there.”
One thing that the Cowboys have going for them right now is that Romo is healthy now. He’s ready to play. And he’s easily the best “backup” in the NFL, which could become a key for Dallas later this season or in the playoffs if Prescott either gets injured or hits a rookie wall.
It’s about as big a win-win situation as there is around the league. Even more than that, the ‘Boys have the NFL’s best offensive line and its best running back right now in Ezekiel Elliott.
With that in mind, Dallas appears destined to have a legitimate chance to finally make a run at another Super Bowl after decades of dormancy in that regard. And who knows? Maybe Romo will have his Peyton Manning moment later this year if things start to fall apart for Prescott.
If not, perhaps the Cowboys will find him a new home next year. And Lord knows, there are some teams in dire need of his services.