Lassoing Romo makes sense for several teams

Tony Romo shook some hands, waved to a few fans and headed up the tunnel at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, perhaps for the final time as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. While everyone was having fun with their “put in Romo” tweets throughout the game, impressive rookie quarterback Dak Prescott nearly led Dallas to a comeback victory before Aaron Rodgers did his Aaron Rodgers things in Green Bay’s last-second 34-31 win.

So what becomes now of Romo, the lightning-rod veteran QB who played one offensive series all season after returning from back surgery?

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was mum about Romo’s future after Sunday’s loss — saying “we don’t need to get into that tonight” — but the team’s franchise quarterback for the past decade comes with a salary-cap hit for next season of $24.7 million. And he still will cost Dallas $19.6 million in dead money on the cap if he’s off the roster, be it by release or trade.

That extra $5.1 million could be reinvested in other areas of the roster, especially with Prescott counting only $635,000 against the cap in 2017 and signed cheaply for two more seasons beyond that.

Here’s a quick look at a few NFL teams with which Romo, if healthy, could make a significant difference. (Please vote in our interactive online poll on where you believe he will end up next season): forking over $72 million to former Broncos backup Brock Osweiler during free agency last offseason?

As it showed Saturday against the Patriots, this defense is championship-ready with the emergence of former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, especially with bookend All-Pro J.J. Watt returning next season from back surgery.