Change of plans: Cowboys now reportedly looking to trade Tony Romo, not release him

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

It always seemed like the Dallas Cowboys should be able to get something in a trade for Tony Romo, even though reports this offseason – including a very specific report Wednesday – said Romo would be cut.

New plan.

The Cowboys now expect to trade Romo and not release him, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. The trade would happen to the Denver Broncos or Houston Texans, Mortensen said. Those are the two teams rumored to have the most interest in Romo. As part of the report, Mortensen said the Broncos’ potential trade could involve Denver’s 2016 starting quarterback Trevor Siemian going to the New York Jets, but Mortensen later said there was “some backpedal” on that part of the report. The part about Romo being traded was “still alive,” he said.

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Presumably, the Cowboys hadn’t gotten much trade interest in Romo, so the plan as of Wednesday was to cut him. But the Broncos and Texans probably don’t want a bidding war over free-agent Romo, so maybe they started thinking twice about getting Romo in a trade. They’d be trading for Romo’s massive contract, but a restructure seems likely as part of a deal.

Nothing ever happens quietly with the Cowboys. Just when it seemed like the Romo saga might end with a release and no big fireworks, suddenly that story has taken a U-turn at the last minute.

Tony Romo could be traded, not cut, according to a report. (AP)
Tony Romo could be traded, not cut, according to a report. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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