Romo is committed to new role
Tony Romo could have prolonged his football career last off-season, but it would have been with a team other than the Dallas Cowboys.
Instead of making that move, Romo opted to walk away from the game and into the broadcast booth as the No. 1 analyst on CBS Sports alongside play-by-play veteran Jim Nantz.
Romo, 37, has been widely praised for his relatively seamless transition into the broadcast booth in his rookie season, and is on the heels of calling his biggest game to date — Sunday’s National Football League AFC championship game between the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Romo never reached this point of playoffs in his playing days, falling in the divisional round three times (2007, ’09 and ’14) and the wild-card round once (’06) in his four postseason trips.
So it begs the question whether Romo has gotten the itch to play again.
“You always miss it a little bit,” Romo said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “I think it’s just human nature when you do something for whatever, 20 years of your life, you’re going to miss parts of it.
“I know I didn’t miss up waking up on Mondays, taking your time getting out of bed. That was a little easier when the kids run and jump on your bed, get yourself up and going,” the former quarterback said.
Romo, of course, battled injuries late in his career. He had multiple back surgeries and fractured his collarbone three times in his career.
When healthy, though, Romo was one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He left as the Cowboys’ franchise leader in passing yards (34,183), passing touchdowns (248), passer rating (97.1), completion percentage (65.3) and most 3,000-yard passing seasons (seven).
Now he’s determined to become one of the top analysts of the game and he’ll have his biggest audience yet Sunday.
Romo will see a couple familiar faces on the Jaguars’ sideline in former teammates such as safety Barry Church and right tackle Jermey Parnell.
On the other side, Romo understands the history of the game and what the Patriots are chasing. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a chance to become the first quarterback/coach combo to win six Super Bowl championships.