Following another disappointing season, some speculated that the Dallas Cowboys could cut ties with quarterback Tony Romo this offseason.
However, Romo has been confirmed as the team’s starter, and Cowboys general
manager and owner Jerry Jones says he hopes to get a long-term contract
extension done with his quarterback, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas.
"Tony is a key piece of what we're about going forward," Jones said Tuesday. "We're certainly going to be looking at his situation (in) time. We've historically (extended contracts) with quarterbacks for the Dallas Cowboys ahead of time. We did it with Troy (Aikman) and we certainly want to look at that with Tony so we can all move forward in terms of how we want to play around our salary cap with our team. Tony is the key piece in terms of how your cap is represented."
Romo is set to enter the final year of his contract. The
32-year-old – he’ll be 33 by the start of the 2013 season – will earn $11.5
million and his salary cap figure is a team-high $16.8 million.
Like other teams, the Cowboys face several cap questions
this offseason. Locking Romo up to a long-term contract could ease their cap
commitment to him. Jones wouldn’t get into specifics, but Watkins said Romo
could command a three- to five-year deal with an average annual salary of at
least $12 million.
Over seven seasons in the NFL, Romo has completed 64.7
percent of his passes and registered a QB rating of 95.6 percent. He threw for
a career-high 4,903 yards with 28 touchdowns and 19 interceptions last season.
Follow @TheNFLInjuryRpt
