MOBILE, Ala. – In the moments following the season-ending loss to Green Bay, Jerry Jones said it was not time to discuss Tony Romo's future.
Roughly 10 days into the Cowboys' offseason isn't yet time, either. The Cowboys' owner/general manager arrived at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Tuesday for the first practice of the Senior Bowl, ready to begin another offseason cycle after his team's 2016 playoff appearance.
But as the Cowboys settle into their preparations for free agency and the draft, Jones isn't quite ready to discuss what's next for Romo.
"I'm not going to get into that at all – whether we've talked or not," Jones said. "We're at a juncture now that, we need to just cool it in our public conversations about what we're going to be doing or not doing there with Tony."
Romo was a hot topic of speculation back during the season, so it's no surprise that his name would be brought up now that the Cowboys have finished playing for the year. The veteran quarterback is turning 37 in April, and he still has three years remaining on the $108 million contract he signed back in 2013.
As has been well-covered by now, there will be plenty of scrutiny on Romo's future after he lost his starting job to Dak Prescott in the fall. Romo suffered a fractured vertebrae in August, ceding the way for the rookie quarterback to lead the Cowboys to one of their most successful regular seasons ever.
It seems unlikely the Cowboys would open a quarterback competition after Prescott's Pro Bowl campaign, and it seems even unlikelier that an accomplished veteran like Romo would want to remain in Dallas as a backup.
Asked about the backup quarterback position, Jones himself made the point that the Cowboys don't need to worry as much about quarterback depth this spring – which makes sense, given that Prescott is just 23 years old with three years remaining on his rookie contract.
"We knew we had Romo but we were pushing hard looking at those quarterbacks with an eye to the future," Jones said of last year's draft prep. "That won't quite be the emphasis this year."
That leaves the Cowboys in just about the same situation as last week, when Jones initially said he wasn't prepared to discuss Romo. It's anyone's guess what will happen, but Jones said there will be a good line of communication going forward – between he and Romo, at the very least.
"I've always had a good feeling that I communicated well and that we as an organization communicated well with Tony. Always – I've always had that," he said.
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