Absent an actual trade rumor to shake up the Scouting Combine, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media essentially made up a potential three-team blockbuster.
In fairness to Rapoport, he added the various “could be” and “may be” qualifiers, making it clear that it was all speculation. Nevertheless, the notion that the 49ers and Washington would, in order to get Kirk Cousins to San Francisco, include the Cowboys send Tony Romo to D.C. represents implausibility at best. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation scoffed at the idea of such a convoluted outcome; one source called it “conjecture,” adding an exclamation point for effect. (Sad!)
It would be complicated enough to get Cousins to San Francisco in a two-team trade, given the total compensation Washington would want and the long-term contract Cousins would expect. Getting a veteran quarterback as part of the transaction could made Washington more willing to part with Cousins, by why would Romo and the Cowboys need to be part of the deal when Dallas and Washington could simply do a trade separate from the trade between San Francisco and Washington?
Then there’s the question of why the Cowboys would ship Romo to a division rival, given the firmly-held belief by owner Jerry Jones that Romo is destined to win a Super Bowl. If Jones truly believes that, he surely doesn’t want to hand Romo to Washington.
While Rapoport gets points for creativity and for filling a slow Friday afternoon with a little intrigue, this is one of those potential transactions that feels too far fetched and too over the top to happen. But maybe the chatter stretches the rubber band far enough to get another team to make to the Cowboys an offer that could then be presented to Romo to see if he’ll accept a trade rather than push for his outright release.
Ultimately, that may be the goal. By floating the idea of interjecting Romo into the 49ers-Washington trade, the Cowboys are shaking the tree to its roots. Now, they just have to stand back and wait for fruit to fall from it.