Romo retires, takes Simms’ job at CBS

Tony Romo couldn’t bring himself to use the word “retired” and didn’t have an answer for whether he would have decided to replace another former quarterback in Phil Simms as lead analyst for CBS if he hadn’t lost his starting job in Dallas.

This much Romo did know: Teams were interested in him continuing his chase for an elusive Super Bowl, and he couldn’t pass up a chance to go straight from the field to a No. 1 booth with Emmy Awardwinning play-by-play man Jim Nantz.

Romo’s release by the Cowboys and his deal with CBS were announced simultaneously yesterday — roughly four weeks later than Dallas owner Jerry Jones told the franchise passing leader he would turn him loose to pursue other teams.

The delay gave Romo time to consider his future after two injury-filled seasons, which cost him the job he had for 10 years when rookie Dak Prescott directed a club-record 11-game winning streak after Romo’s preseason back injury. It was his fourth back injury since 2013.

“It wasn’t a simple decision,” said Romo, who will work Thursday night and Sunday games. “It got easier when I started to really get excited about working with CBS. That part of it got the juices flowing and started to get you excited to be a part of a team and go attack a craft.”

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said the network plans to keep Simms and is working on finding another role for their lead analyst the past 19 seasons. . . .

The Philadelphia Eagles have acquired defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan from the Baltimore Ravens.

The Eagles and Ravens also swapped third-round picks in the trade. Baltimore gets the 77th overall pick while Philadelphia moves down to No. 99.