Jerry Jones has Tony Romo's 'interest at the top of my list' as Cowboys QB mulls future

PHOENIX — Tony Romo was nowhere to be seen at the resort where NFL owners gathered this week for a low-intensity round of league meetings.

But the quarterback-in-limbo sure had a heavy presence as conduit for buzz. You’d think that Romo would have moved on from the Dallas Cowboys by now. That it hasn’t happened yet just fuels more intrigue.

What’s the holdup?

“I have his interest at the top of my list,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told USA TODAY Sports. “How this thing evolves over the next few weeks or months will be dictated by what Tony wants to do.”

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Jones gave legitimacy to what has been widely speculated — that Romo, who will be 37 next month, hasn’t made a final decision about whether he even wants to continue his career. Romo barely played over the past two seasons because of three major injuries and lost his job to rookie Dak Prescott last year.

I’d think, knowing Romo and his competitive DNA to a degree, that he doesn’t want to go out like this. The chance to win a title, which means landing with the right team — hello, Houston Texans or Denver Broncos — and proving that he still can be a difference maker has to be a strong lure. Then again, no one can speak for what’s inside his heart and the condition of his body like Romo himself. He’s been publicly mum, while reports indicate that Fox and CBS want to add him to their broadcast rosters.

“As we stand here talking about these circumstances,” Jones said, having stepped out of a meeting for a break, “he has some of the best options you could have. But I think he can still win at a championship level.”

I asked Jones about the mixed reports that surfaced before the start of free agency and whether he and Romo had agreed on the quarterback being released.

“It’s definition,” Jones said.

In other words, when Jones thinks “release,” he apparently mean release or trade.

“There’s ambiguity with this,” he added.

"Ambiguity" has long been one of Jones' favorite terms, so it’s fitting that it applies now as the fate of the erstwhile face of the franchise dangles in the wind. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are hoping to get something for Romo — my guess is that the value for an aging passer with an injury history might be a conditional pick in the latter half of the draft, which could improve in value if he’s healthy enough to play and further increase if his new team wins in January.

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Texans owner Bob McNair, who got burned in last year's Brock Osweiler gamble, clearly has a sense of the Romo dynamics in play with Jones.

“He saw the trade we made,” McNair told USA TODAY Sports, alluding to the startling deal that sent Osweiler, his $16 million salary for 2017 and a second-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in a pay dump. “(Jones) wants to make a trade. I understand that.

“But he’s between a rock and a hard place with that.”

Houston coach Bill O’Brien wouldn’t touch the Romo topic this week, mindful not to get into tampering territory.

There have been no trade discussions between the Cowboys and Texans involving Romo, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. That person requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Guess we’ll see who blinks first. Jones reiterated to me that he doesn’t have a timeline for this, even while carrying Romo’s $24.7 million salary cap figure. Yet he’s also said he wants to "do right" by Romo and do right by the Cowboys, which takes us back to the ambiguous intersection of release, trade or retire.

One thing is for certain: Jones’ “do-right rule” wouldn’t frown on Romo playing for the Texans, even if it presents the awkward scenario of one of the most popular players in Cowboys history landing with their intrastate rivals. In Houston, Romo’s doings would be big news in Dallas — perhaps even stealing attention away from the Cowboys.

But Jones scoffed at the notion.

“That would not be a problem for me,” he said.

McNair put the prospect of Dallas being stung by a Romo revival inside a bigger picture.

“If he ends up anywhere and Dak doesn’t play well, it won’t look good,” McNair said. “I don’t know that (Jones is) worried about that.”

If Romo ultimately lands in Houston with the task of grasping a new playbook, O’Brien would likely find a mental match capable of operating his complex offense — which Osweiler so clearly struggled to do. Romo, with 14 seasons under his belt, is like a coach on field.

Assuming, of course, a lot of things transpire to again make that a reality.

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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell

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