The 2016 NFL season is one Tony Romo likely would rather forget.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback entered the season with high expectations, healthy and armed with arguably the best roster he’s had since the team made him the starting quarterback in 2006.
Unfortunately for Romo, however, he suffered a back injury during the preseason, and the injury knocked him out until the middle of the season. The Cowboys then turned to rookie Dak Prescott, and all he did was play at an MVP level, ensuring Romo wouldn’t regain his job this season and also likely signaling the end of the QB’s time in Dallas.
It’s unfortunate, but that’s life in the NFL (as Drew Bledsoe can tell you). There’s still plenty of sympathy for Romo across the league, though, as he seems by all accounts to be a good guy and his play speaks for itself.
One Green Bay staffer vocalized said sympathy for Romo in a postgame meeting caught by a camera following the Packers’ last-second divisonal-round playoff win last week — a game that ended Dallas’ season and perhaps Romo’s time with the Cowboys.
Tony Romo walks off for potentially the final time as a Cowboy. Where will he end up? Some possibilities: https://t.co/ofhsev6TjS pic.twitter.com/Np2xmqlXe3
— SportsDay Cowboys (@dmn_cowboys) January 16, 2017
“You deserve better,” the staffer can be heard saying midway through the video.
The “staffer” is Packers head athletic trainer Pepper Burruss. After the video started making the rounds, Burruss used Twitter to further explain the interaction.
Read into it as u wish. He's class exemplified and been a great ambassador for the NFL, Cowboys And grew up a Packers fan which is ok by me https://t.co/gb4X7k2wcX
— Pepper Burruss (@PepperBurruss) January 17, 2017
Romo’s situation is a tricky one. While it’s a bummer to lose your job because of an injury, it’s hard to argue Romo “deserved” to just get his job back upon returning. The results with Prescott are hard to argue, as Dallas went 13-3 and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC — only the New England Patriots had a better record this season. And after Aaron Rodgers and the Packers jumped out to a 21-3 lead Sunday, Prescott helped orchestrate a wildly impressive comeback, only to fall just short.
Where Romo lands will be one of the more fascinating offseason storylines. He reportedly has his eye on Denver, but it doesn’t appear the feeling is mutual at this time.
h/t Coed.com
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
