The Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to release quarterback Tony Romo on Thursday with the start of the new league year, according to Adam Schefter. They had been reportedly considering trade options, but instead, Romo will be available without costing draft picks.
The decision to wait until Thursday to release Romo likely means he will be listed as a June 1 cut. If the Cowboys release him without the designation, they would clear $5.1 million in cap space. If they designate him as a June 1 cut, they would clear $14 million in cap space this year. They would not get that cap space until June 1, but it would free them up at that point.
Whatever the case, this will be a notable domino in the QB market. With word that Tyrod Taylor is staying in Buffalo, the free agent market is now topped by Tony Romo, then some combination of Colin Kaepernick, Mike Glennon, and Brian Hoyer. The Chicago Bears are trying to trade Jay Cutler, but if nothing comes of that, he could join this group as well.
Romo is a strong candidate for quite a few teams. The Houston Texans and Denver Broncos both make the most sense for now. They are contenders with questions at quarterback, and Romo could be the option that gets them over the top. Of course, his injury issues are worrisome for any team, so a capable backup will be necessary.
The 49ers could decide to take a run at him, but it’s hard to see Romo coming to the Bay Area. Kyle Shanahan might intrigue him, but with quite a few question marks, I have to think Romo would rather go to a team closer to a Super Bowl.