Let me be blunt about this: The Cowboys don’t need to draft a quarterback with the 4th overall pick because:
- Tony Romo is good.
- Tony Romo is not injury-prone.
It’s flawed rhetoric to continue espousing that the Cowboys’ quarterback is “old and broken down.” And it’s an erroneous view that could derail a draft.
Say you’re at the grocery store on your budget, and you buy milk because you believe back at home you’re almost out of milk. You want a loaf of bread, by my God you need milk. You buy milk. But at home you discover – and now, you remember – you’re not out of milk after all. You have 1/2 jug with an expiration date that doesn’t put it in jeopardy. Now you’ve got too much milk, and not enough bread.
Moral to the story? Tony Romo is … milk? Wait, that’s not it exactly. But he’s an item that the Cowboys have stocked. They don’t need a quarterback. In the draft they'd be better served to buy something else.
Romo is indeed 36, but he’s not old. Or broken down.
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In fact, I’ll claim that he’s one of the toughest quarterbacks in the NFL. If he doesn’t have a broken bone or anything this side of a severed spine, he plays. Plays with a punctured lung. Plays with cracked ribs. Plays with a herniated disk. And, lest you forget, plays well.
In 2014, Romo started 15 games and led the Cowboys to a playoff win. He led the NFL in completion percentage, rating and game-winning drives. In the regular season he had 34 touchdowns to only nine interceptions and in the playoffs he came within a controversial overturn of a Dez Bryant completion from a dramatic comeback that would’ve pushed Dallas into the NFC Championship Game.
Because of an awkward sack and a broken collar bone last season, we forget how dang good he is.
Romo missed 12 games last season. But in the previous four seasons he played in 62 of Dallas’ 64 games. In his first nine seasons as the starting quarterback, injuries forced him to miss a total of only 15 games (10 of those after a broken collar bone in 2010).
He’s durable. He’s effective. He’s … easy to take for granted.
Like Jerry Jones, I’m not ready to pronounce him as Dallas’ starter past 2020. But I see no reason he can’t return to being Tony Romo for next season and beyond.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
