CBS has not yet made a final decision on Tony Romo's future, but it's starting to sound like we've seen the last of him in the broadcast booth.
Romo, who joined CBS Sports in 2017, has been working closely with Jim Nantz as the network's lead NFL analyst. On July 23, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was arrested in Wisconsin on suspicion of operating while under the influence. It was reported that cops found an open bottle of booze in his vehicle.
Last Friday, CBS announced that Romo has been placed on leave until further notice. Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt will take over his spot on the No. 1 crew.
“JJ Watt will join Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as CBS Sports’ lead NFL team during Tony Romo’s absence,” CBS said. ”We will release the remainder of our NFL ON CBS roster at a later date.”
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According to Puck’s John Ourand, the consensus in the sports media industry is that Romo won't reclaim his spot as the No. 1 color commentator for CBS.
This report from Ourand aligns with something The Athletic's Andrew Marchand said earlier this month. He claims CBS has been trying to "get out" of Romo's contract. As of now, there's roughly $72 million remaining on his deal.
"My feeling is they’ve been wanting to get out of this contract, they know it’s not good," Marchand said, via Awful Announcing. "And not only get out (of this contract), they want to get out of the Romo business, in my opinion. Because if you bring him back, he’s back. There’s no, he’s back, and then you’re going to let him go, in my opinion."
Who'll be Romo's replacement at CBS?
Obviously, Watt will get the first crack at becoming the new lead NFL analyst for CBS. If he ends up being a nice fit alongside Nantz, he may just earn the job on a full-time basis.
However, Ourand mentioned FOX analyst Greg Olsen as a potential option to replace Romo.
“Watt is one name, and the other is Greg Olsen, a broadcasting superstar who has many fans out there who love him on the air,” Ourand wrote. “You’ll recall Olsen was demoted when Tom Brady took over Fox’s No. 1 job.”
Olsen is currently on the No. 2 crew for FOX, but he has expressed his desire to return to the top spot.
“I still seek to go out and reach the highest levels of this profession and in no means does that mean that I want it to be at the expense of Tom [Brady]. And Tom wants to continue to ascend and achieve everything he wants, that doesn’t have to come at the expense of me,” Olsen said. “My success is not contingent on Tom’s failure, and vice versa. I’m thankful for FOX, they believed in me… I want to be very crystal clear. Do I want to call top games? Of course. We all have aspirations to be as good as we possibly can, or else we’re wasting our time.”
