Tony Romo has been placed on indefinite leave by CBS, and his role as the lead analyst for the network’s NFL coverage appears to be in jeopardy.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned broadcaster was arrested last month on suspicion of operating while intoxicated (OWI).
Romo was stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin.
According to a report from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, he performed poorly on roadside sobriety tests before being taken into custody, booked, and subsequently released.
The former NFL star has a court date scheduled for 21 September, and was later put on leave ‘until further notice’ by CBS.
While he’s away, J.J. Watt will join Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as the network’s lead NFL team, in a move many fans had been asking for.
As it stands, the move is temporary. But should CBS wish to make it a permanent one, Jerry Jones could stand in their way.
The Cowboys owner and general manager has recently been speaking about Romo’s arrest, and made his feelings clear on the situation in a recent interview with Fox 4.
Jerry Jones reacts to Tony Romo’s recent arrest
“I love him,” Jones, who has admitted he could soon make a big U-turn on AT&T Stadium, said of his former player.
“I love what he’s about. I love his character. I love his love of sport. And he’s a very, very unique talent.
“And the real question is — and I don’t even have to ask what the answer is: Do you think Tony Romo knows how to get up when he gets knocked down? He had a life of that.
“That’s one of his greatest attributes, is that he can handle adversity.”
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Jones added that his former quarterback will ‘work though’ his latest setback.
Romo played for 14 seasons in Dallas, from 2003 to 2016, and boasted an overall record of 78-49. He won two playoff games during his career, and never got past the division round of the postseason.
“This is something that he will work through. He’s a unique talent,” Cowboys owner Jones added.
“His vision was just mesmerizing when he was a player. But he sees things and can articulate it so instantly.
“He’d walk out under center, at our practice, and the defense would have 12 people out there, and it’d take him about a second to say, ‘Coach, we got 12 guys out here. Get one of them off, on the deal.’ He just sees it, and then he goes — he has that skill.
“It’s made him a great, great portrayer of the story of football games. So, obviously, I’m a big fan of his, big fan of his family, and let me tell you right now, he’s as real as he sounds. He feels every down time, he feels every up time.”
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Jones has made his feelings on Romo clear. He will stand by his former player, no matter what. And that could be a problem for CBS.
Jerry Jones could challenge CBS action on Tony Romo
According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, the $19 billion Cowboys owner could use his ‘influence’ to test the network’s resolve.
“If CBS is thinking about making Romo’s current down time into a down-and-out time, Jones may have something to say about that,” Florio wrote Sunday.
“And the league has significant influence over the networks when it comes to the voices broadcasting pro football games.
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“It could become a test of Jones’s current influence, frankly. If CBS wants (as it seems) to find a way to move on from Romo, ideally without paying him all or most of the remaining $72 million on his contract, Jones may intervene.
“Jones still runs the Cowboys because he owns them. How much juice does Jones still have in league-wide matters? That could become the subplot to Paramount vs. Romo.
“And, frankly, Jones may have already lost round one, if (as it appears) it was CBS’s decision to put Romo on leave ‘until further notice.'”
Back in 1992, Jones completely changed the landscape of NFL television rights, and helped turn the league into a multi-billion dollar business by bringing in Fox to challenge CBS.
More than three decades on, and he could have the network in his cross-hairs again. Should Romo need it, he’ll have a powerful friend in Jones.
