Cowboys News: Will Tony Romo Return To Dallas In 2013?

It was another turbulent season for the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas ended their season in disappointment on Sunday night with a 28-18 loss to the Washington Redskins. A win would have given the Cowboys the NFC East title and the No.4 seed in the playoffs, but the defeat dropped them to 8-8 and third place in the division.

It’s the third straight year that Dallas has missed the playoffs. They have just one postseason victory since 1996.

Dallas had an opportunity to win their Week 17 matchup. Robert Griffin III had one of the worst games of his rookie campaign, throwing for just 100 yards and no touchdowns. However, the Cowboys quarterback had an even worse performance.

Tony Romo three threw interceptions in the contest, including one late in the late fourth quarter that sealed his team’s fate. He had thrown just one pick in his previous four games.

One constant in the Cowboys the last couple of seasons has been Romo. He’s been the team’s starting signal caller since 2006, but has been unable to even help the Cowboys advance to the NFC Championship Game. Dallas hasn’t posted a record above .500 since 2009.

Is it time for the organization to finally part ways with Romo?

In seven years as the Cowboys starter, Romo’s impressive regular season statistics haven’t translated into much success. His 95.6 passer rating is good for fifth all-time, yet he’s the only quarterback in the top five without a Super Bowl ring.

Romo, once again, finished the season with rather impressive statistics. His 4,903 passing yards were third in the NFL, and he finished in the top six in passer rating and touchdowns. Still, it wasn’t enough to get the Cowboys into the potseason.

He may be unfairly labeled as a player who can’t get the job done under pressure, but there’s no denying that Romo has had some tough performances in important games.

In two consecutive seasons, he failed to help his team win their final game to clinch a postseason berth. He was outplayed by Eli Manning in 2008 when Dallas won 13 games, and will always be remembered for fumbling the snap against the Seattle Seahawks that prevented Dallas from advancing to the second round.

After almost a decade in Dallas, Jerry Jones may be realizing that Romo’s time with the organization is through. The quarterback’s good numbers would give him decent value on the trade market, and his one-year deal isn’t at all unreasonable.

Jones said he would have to analyze the performance of his players before making any moves in the offseason. If he takes a look at the past few years, he might come to the conclusion that Romo is not the answer in Dallas.

The Cowboys would have to ensure that they have a solid replacement for Romo, which is not an easy task. Drafting a quarterback could make it difficult for them to compete next season, and the free agent market won’t be filled with franchise quarterbacks. Upgrading a quarterback through a trade is rather far-fetched, so Dallas may have nowhere else to go but to hold onto Romo.

However, Romo has been given plenty of chances in Dallas, and Cowboy fans are restless. The New York Giants and Redskins are set at the quarterback position, and could be fighting for NFC East supremacy for the next few years.

There may not be better alternatives than Romo on the market, but Jones knows he may have to do something dramatic.