INDIANAPOLIS -- The Tony Romo market is still forming and could result in his release instead of a trade. Regardless, he’s not returning to the Dallas Cowboys, and even Jerry Jones -- working through his stages of grief, I suppose -- has come to grips with that.
Jones has yet to have a parting meeting with his longtime starter, but the market for the veteran quarterback likely will consist of a handful of teams. As I reported before the Super Bowl, the teams Romo covets most are the Texans, Chiefs and Broncos. And I have been thoroughly convinced by Chiefs general manager John Dorsey that Alex Smith will be his starter in 2017, so K.C. is off the list.
The other teams that I have heard are doing work on Romo, and where he could legitimately land, are the Rams and the 49ers. I’m not sure any other suitors make sense.
Ideally, Romo wants to go somewhere with a chance to win right now, to pull of his version of the Peyton Manning Show. And I wouldn’t bet against him going out a champion. If you made me guess, I’d put my money on Houston. The Texans could live with Brock Osweiler as the highest-paid backup in league history for a year.
But if it came down to a rebuilding team like San Francisco or the Rams -- each hired new dynamic, offensive-minded coaches (Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Sean McVay in L.A.) in the offseason -- I wouldn’t rule them out.
There are teams that like Romo and places he would be inclined to play, and this will sort itself out in a matter of weeks.
