Monday, February 18, 2013
Update on the Romo situation
By Tim Kavanagh
With the offseason now in full swing for all 32 NFL teams, the picture of which players around the league are going to be getting contract extensions has become a little more clear, though there hasn't been much official movement as of yet. When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys and Tony Romo, things may be picking up rather quickly in the near future.
Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com explains that the Cowboys are in a bit of a bind here, needing to extend Romo's deal this offseason or else face significant dead money penalties in 2014 (Romo's deal voids after 2013). Should they fail to reach an extension this offseason, they'd have to account for $8.1 million on their cap for 2014; if they then franchise tag Romo for 2014, that cap charge would be on top of the tag tender (which would be around $14 to 15 million).
This hasn't yet resulted in Dallas racing to the negotiating table, however. According to Archer's colleague Calvin Watkins, contract talks have not yet started between the two sides, per a source.
Nevertheless, ESPN's Ed Werder offered his opinion via Twitter that there's "no way Jerry [Jones] makes [Romo] uncomfortable by playing out deal. That would make JJ uncomfortable." This is something important to watch as the offseason continues.
Dan Graziano
No talks yet with Tony"I wouldn't expect Romo to rush into things here. The Cowboys need to give him an extension in order to get under this year's cap. He knows this. This gives him leverage. I wouldn't expect Romo to agree to a below-market deal just to do the Cowboys a favor. They'll need to pay up if they want to lock him up this offseason. And they do."
