Lost in Tony Romo’s unusual, genuine and sometimes sad news conference on Tuesday was that Romo might not be done with the Dallas Cowboys. Not this year, anyway.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett seemed to understand where the focus should be, however.
Whatever happens with Romo this offseason doesn’t matter right now. The Cowboys are 8-1, have every right to view themselves as Super Bowl contenders, and no matter how upset Romo is over Dak Prescott keeping the starting job, he might still factor in this season. Backup quarterbacks often do.
Garrett, to his credit, was quick to remind Romo of his duties in a new role.
“He and I had a really good visit today about the focus that he needs to have today in preparing for what his role is going to be on Sunday if all goes well this week,” Garrett said, according to DallasNews.com.
It’s not empty talk, either. ESPN’s Todd Archer said Garrett made a change to the practice schedule to get Romo work with the first-team offense. Backup quarterbacks generally get very little work with the starters during the week.
Will Romo play for the Cowboys this season? Nobody knows, and there clearly aren’t any plans for it. But nobody at this point in the 1990 season planned on Jeff Hostetler leading the New York Giants to a Super Bowl. Nobody figured Drew Bledsoe would re-emerge in the 2001 AFC championship game for the New England Patriots when Tom Brady was hurt. Nobody knew if Peyton Manning would ever regain his job at this point last season for the Denver Broncos.
It’s the NFL. Things have a funny way of working out.
“I thought he handled himself really well,” Garrett said, according to DallasNews.com. “Doesn’t surprise me one bit, doesn’t surprise our coaching staff or his teammates one bit.
“But again, we’re focused on today and our preparation for Sunday’s game.”
That message to refocus on the present is important, because while Romo’s speech was candid, he didn’t come across as someone who was mentally prepared to play. And that’s understandable. Nobody is saying it’s an easy position for Romo to be in.
But there’s still a chance Romo could contribute in a significant way to a Cowboys Super Bowl team. Maybe Prescott finally hits a slump. Maybe he gets hurt. Nobody knows. But Garrett wanted to remind Romo to be ready, just in case.
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