For the first time, Tony Romo said he is retired . . . and staying retired.
Three months ago, when he announced he was joining CBS, the former Cowboys quarterback left at least a 1 percent chance he would return to the NFL. On Wednesday, while making the rounds to promote the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, Romo squashed any thought about a football comeback.
“Oh yeah, probably a good chance. We’ll see how it plays out. I think you’ll find -- I’m joking,” Romo said on NFL Network when asked about a comeback. “Like I said before, I’m done.”
Actually, what he said before -- in April -- was, “I wish I could tell you unequivocally, 100 percent, for the rest of my life, I’ll never play any sports at all. I don’t envision coming back. But I’ve also seen enough things, you know, from [coach Nick Saban’s] ‘I’m not going to Alabama’ to [Brett Favre’s] ‘I’m done playing football,’ that happen in life.” Later in the press conference, Romo added that his retirement is “about 99 percent” certain.
Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson added speculation about Romo’s future when Wilson said it would be “fun to speculate” about a Romo return if anything happens to Dak Prescott. Romo, though, said Wednesday his focus is on becoming a TV analyst.
“I’m pretty happy and excited about the opportunity that was presented to me,” Romo said. “I got coach [and veteran CBS play-by-play man] Jim Nantz teaching me all the tricks of the trade that I’m going to be behind on, but I’m improving fast. I’m excited about it. It gives me a chance to compete, get better and improve. I get to be passionate about the game, hopefully teach a little bit, hopefully make it a little bit entertaining along the way. It’s going to be fun.”