Dallas Cowboys

Two reasons Tony Romo should be the Dallas Cowboys QB

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Even though rookie Dak Prescott has earned the right to be the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback, here’s why the job should belong to Tony Romo.

Aug 25, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) walks off the field after warming up before the start of a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

One of the most difficult things in any sort of decision is being able to compartmentalize personal feelings in an effort to make the best decision possible. The Dallas Cowboys brain trust has this dilemma on their hands in the next couple of weeks. Stay with Dak Prescott or go back to Tony Romo.

The option of having Tony Romo back as the starting quarterback is getting close. He appears to be completely healed from the back injury suffered in the preseason. Obviously, he’ll need a few weeks to get into “football shape” but the time is near for a possible return.

Of course, there is the fact that the team has not only survived, but flourished in his absence. His “replacement” just so happens to own the fifth highest quarterback rating in the league. The Cowboys are exactly two points away from being the only undefeated team in the NFL heading towards Halloween.

Those kinds of things make it extremely hard to just hand the keys back over to a guy who has missed eighteen games since September of 2015. Upsetting the apple cart when things are going well seems to be a risky proposition at best.

There are reasons, however, why the Dallas Cowboys would even consider such a move.

Unlike those who want Romo back because they have a personal attachment to him, the Cowboys must evaluate the decision purely on football.

That’s exactly what we will do here as well. On Sunday, I provided three reasons as to why Dak Prescott should remain the starting quarterback. Today, it’s Romo’s turn.

Here are the two biggest reasons why he should, in fact, be the starting quarterback once he is physically prepared to do so.

Nov 22, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) throws a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. The Cowboys won 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Performance

Currently, the Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 under the leadership of Prescott. That is a phenomenal start, especially for a rookie. It’s also a relatively small sample size.

Romo, on the other hand, is 18-6 in his last 24 regular season starts. Even more impressive is how the Dallas Cowboys do with Romo on the road. Since November of 2013, they are 12-1 in Romo’s road starts.

More from The Landry Hat

His stats aren’t too shabby either. Romo is completing 68% of his passes, with a better than 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio (49 TDs, 20 INTs). That works out to a quarterback rating of 103.0 for Romo in his last 24 games as a starter.

The numbers are not an isolated sample either. By and large, Tony Romo has been incredibly productive, even when the talent around him has not been up to par.

Romo has posted a quarterback rating of 95 or better in seven of the ten years he has been a starter. During that decade of consistency, only once has he had a running back behind gain 1,200 yards or better.

That’s the same number of times he’s also a top ten scoring defense to rely upon as well. Prescott has both luxuries to rely upon currently, if you extrapolate Ezekiel Elliott’s projected numbers out for the entire season.

Obviously that’s nothing negative towards Dak, but you have to be curious to see what Tony can do with the same amenities.

Aug 19, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and quarterback Tony Romo (9) talk during the pregame warmups against the Miami Dolphins at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Money

Right now, Romo has four years left on his current contract with the Dallas Cowboys. This year, his $20.8M is the best bargain the Cowboys will ever get on him. That is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, seeing as how he has not played one meaningful down since Thanksgiving of last year.

This is not to say that just because Romo makes more than twenty times the amount of money that Dak brings in, he should be the starter. Like I said earlier, performance is really all that matters.

The money does relate when deciding upon Romo’s future however.

The Dallas Cowboys are undoubtedly analyzing all the scenarios in play as you read this. Playing Romo seems to make the most sense for two reasons.

Regardless of how he performs upon coming back, it would work in the favor of the team. If Romo comes back and he’s the same #9 we’re accustomed to seeing, then the Cowboys could use this as a huge bargaining chip in the offseason.

With no lingering ill effects from all of the surgeries, plenty of teams (the Jets and 49ers immediately come to mind) would love a chance at a top notch signal caller. Could the Cowboys get a first and third round pick for a guy consistently putting up 100+ passer ratings?

Even though $19.6M of his contract would still be on the books for next year, it would free up $5.1M of cap space in 2017 since only the prorated amount of his contract would be the Cowboys responsibility.

A trade would also erase $25.2 million of cap space in 2018 and another $23.7 million in 2019, all currently assigned to Romo.

If Romo’s play is below average, this could work to the Cowboys advantage as well. Be it from just poor play or (hopefully not) another injury, either could be the writing on the wall that Tony would need to see to retire.

In that case, the same cap numbers apply.

Regardless of whatever camp you are placing yourself in, continuing to win is the most important thing here. It’s certainly a delicate balance but as Jones has said, it’s a good problem to have.

This article originally appeared on