When asked about quarterback Tony Romo after Sunday’s loss to the Packers, owner Jerry Jones stalled.
But in the words of coach Jason Garrett yesterday, there were the beginnings of a goodbye.
Via Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News, Garrett gave the clearest answer possible when asked about Romo’s future, which is not in Dallas after rookie Dak Prescott took over and led the team to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs this year.
“We certainly want the best for him,” Garrett said, “whether he is here or whether he is somewhere else.”
Garrett also talked at length about his own decision to stick with Prescott once Romo recovered from fractures in his back.
“Well, it was a challenging situation for everybody,” Garrett said. “Tony and I talked about this. He said very eloquently in his press conference [Nov. 15] that it’s a meritocracy and Dak has earned this opportunity. In my visits with Tony after that, I said, ‘I agree with you, but I actually think you’ve misused the word meritocracy,’ because if you look at what he [Romo] has done in his last [21] starts as a Cowboy, won [16] games and lost five of them. So when he had his opportunities based on the merits, there’s a compelling argument to be made that that guy should be your quarterback.
“And the thing that was challenging for him and for everybody was these decisions were independent of each other. What happened when Tony got hurt, Dak stepped in and this team got going. It went on a run, and what we needed to do was somehow, someway stay on that run. Those decisions were kind of independent of each other, because based on the merits there is a compelling argument for Tony Romo. But the team was just at a certain place and they were handling that situation so well that it was just in the best interest for us to continue down that road.”
The fact Prescott only briefly blinked made it easier for them, and Garrett never considered turning to Romo at any point after making the decision.
So now the road will turn for the 36-year-old Romo, and the Cowboys will be left in the position of hoping that their newest savior never gets hurt or struggles.