Cowboys News: Could Tony Romo Play For Redskins In 2017?

Report: Washington Redskins Showing Interest In Tony Romo - Jesse Borek, Fanrag Sports
Just when you thought you'd heard it all, along comes Jason Cole of Bleacher Report and speculates that Washington could be interested in acquiring Romo, if they decide to trade Kirk Cousins.

The team currently has to decide what to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins, whom it can either slap with the franchise tag for the second consecutive season, work out a long-term deal, or find a suitable trade partner. In the latter scenario, that would create a void at quarterback; one the team may seek to fill with Romo, whether it be by trade or via free agency.

Tony Romo's name enters Redskins picture amid Cousins fallout - Vince Langford, The Star-Telegram
More on the Romo to Redskins speculation.

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report wrote this week that "there has been very little progress toward a deal" as Cousins and Washington talk about a long-term contract.

Also from Cole: "Whether Washington will get a shot at Romo is a difficult question shrouded in whether Dallas is willing to trade or release him, and whether Romo will agree not to play for Washington as part of his release."

Dallas Cowboys: Could Tony Romo play for Washington in 2017? - SportsDay Staff
Kate Hairopoulos, Cowboys beat writer for The Dallas Morning News, answered questions in a recent live chat, and here she is addressing the Romo to the Redskins speculation.

The topic du jour on this quiet week before the NFL scouting combine! So many things would have to happen for this to become a stunning reality.

Is Washington really still so unsure about Cousins that they're willing to trade him? He's going to be 29 and is entering his third season as a starter. He's going to continue to improve. I know some questions remain about Cousins and he will demand a huge contract (partly because Washington has bungled things), but there would be great risk in moving on from him. If the Redskins trade him and draft a quarterback, you never know how quickly that will pay off or won't (See: Jared Goff).

If you want to bring in a veteran like Romo to fill the gap in the meanwhile, you're trading away a younger QB who has thrown for over 4,000 yards the last two seasons to sign a 37-year old that has barely played since 2014 because of injuries. If the Cowboys do release Romo so that he can pick the site of his last hurrah, would it be all good with Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner and Romo's friend, that he goes to a division rival the Cowboys play twice a year?

QB carousel: Tony Romo to the Bears? - Marc Sessler, NFL.com
With the potential for large-scale QB movement in March, Sessler predicts where every QB will land, and here's his take on Romo.

Tony Romo to The Windy City: In this scenario, look for (a) Chicago to release Jay Cutler and (b) Dallas to cut ties with Romo, making the Cowboys veteran a perfect fit for the quarterback-needy Bears. The relationship with Pace -- who served as team captain at Eastern Illinois during Romo's 1999 freshman campaign -- only helps. (By the way, who knew Eastern Illinois was such an ultra-flaming hotbed of signal-calling drama?)

Tony Romo: Is He Worth the Risk? - Jason Lisk, The Big Lead
There has been plenty of talk about where Tony Romo might end up next season, but less discussion of whether he is worth the risk. Lisk tackles that issue by running through a list of QBs who went from the team they had played with for at least eight years to another team, at age 34 or older. That list includes Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Warren Moon, Brett Favre, and others. Here's Lisk's conclusion:

You can see why teams are willing to take the risk. There are others who don’t appear here who were younger and declining and suffering from injuries (Namath to the Rams a prominent example, at age 34). And you may question Romo being included with a group that has five Hall of Famers. By his efficiency stats, though, Romo deserves to be considered. He hasn’t played a season where he started at least eight games and was below average in pass efficiency. He’s led the league in yards per attempt twice and been above 8 yards per attempt five times.

Is he a good risk? There’s no guarantee he holds up. But other top passers who moved on have rebounded fairly well in the short term. They turned in above average seasons over two-thirds of the time, and elite ones nearly a third of the time. Over half reached a title game with the new team. Realistic expectation is two good seasons, but for a team that needs to win now, it’s probably a risk worth taking.

Mike Lombardi: Dallas needs to go all in for Chargers DE Melvin Ingram - The Ringer
Lombardi, who worked as the Assistant to the coaching staff in New England from 2014-2016, now writes for The Ringer and penned an article on the do's and don'ts of free agency, and had this piece of advice for the Cowboys along with a not-so-subtle dig at Chip Kelly.:

Teams that succeed in free agency know exactly what their scheme requires at every position, then find players to fit those requirements. The Giants did it with defensive tackle Damon Harrison. The Falcons did with center Alex Mack. The expensive deals they shelled out were definitely worth it, because Atlanta and New York scouted inside out. How many teams will emulate those big-ticket signings and find the perfect marriage of scheme, need, and player? I’m looking at these four teams:

1. Dallas needs to go all in for Chargers defensive end/linebacker Melvin Ingram. He fits their scheme perfectly, gives the Cowboys an elite pass rusher from the edge, and improves an already solid defense. Why overpay Jason Pierre-Paul for past performance when you can splurge on a blue-chipper hitting his prime?

[...]

Remember: Don’t grade [free agency moves] in March and April. Grade them 10 months from now. You can’t win the offseason; you can only lose it. Just ask Chip Kelly.

Predicting contract terms for top 25 NFL free agents - John Clayton, ESPN
Clayton's look at the top free agents includes Melvin Ingram, who is ranked #10 on this list.

Projected contract: Four years, $54 million total

Does this number seem high? Don't be surprised if it's even more. Ingram is one of the best pass-rushers available, and the bidding could get crazy. He has 18.5 sacks during the past two seasons playing outside linebacker in the Chargers' 3-4.

Twitter mailbag: Could the Cowboys go after Melvin Ingram? - Todd Archer, ESPN
A reader wonders about Dallas' interest in Melvin Ingram, and Archer explains why Ingram isn't likely to be a future Cowboy.

There’s always a chance, I presume, but if we take the Cowboys at their word on their approach to free agency, then I would doubt it. Ingram has proven to be a solid pass-rusher the last two seasons after struggling to stay healthy early in his time with the Los Angeles Chargers. (Wow, that’s the first time I typed that. Weird.) He turns 28 in April, so he’s at a good age for a pass-rusher. Here’s an interesting note: he is signed with Roc Nation, the same group that represents Dez Bryant. There’s a good relationship there between the Cowboys and Jay-Z’s people, even though that Bryant deal took some time to get done. I’m not sure if Ingram would fall into the same category as Olivier Vernon last year, but he’s not going to be far off. Next week at the combine, I’ll have a better sense of how things might go in free agency, so check back for some updates. For now, however, I would not bet on Ingram wearing a star on his helmet.

NFL awards compensatory draft picks to 16 clubs - NFL.com
A total of 32 compensatory choices in the 2017 NFL Draft have been awarded to 16 teams, including a staggering 11 third-round selections. If my math is right, these are the final Cowboys picks heading into the draft:

1st round: 28th overall
2nd round: 60th overall
3rd round: 92nd overall
4th round: 133rd overall
6th round: 211th overall
7th round: 228th overall
7th round: 246th overall

The Real Reason Cowboys Coaches Want to Play in Hall of Fame Game - Kristi Scales, 5 Points Blue
Scales writes that the Cowboys coaches and scouts were high-fiving each other when the league announced the Cowboys will play in the Hall of Fame Game. Here's why:

Here’s the real reason coaches and player personnel guys inside The Star in Frisco are so happy: the Hall of Fame Game means the Cowboys get an extra week of practice at training camp. And coaches love practice time, especially during training camp which is very regimented and currently has strict rules limiting the number of padded/contract practices.

This summer, with the Cowboys playing the Cardinals in Canton, Ohio on Thursday, August 3, they will likely hold their first Training Camp practice on July 20th (the team would likely report to camp in Oxnard, California approximately July 18th or 19th).

Failed Completions 2016 - Scott Kacsmar, Football Outsiders
Not every completed pass helps the offense move downfield far enough. Borrowing from FO's long-established success rate, which only counts plays as a success if they gain 45 percent of needed yards on first down; 60 percent of needed yards on second down; or 100 percent of needed yards on third or fourth down, Kacsmar applies the same logic to pass completions and calls passes that fall short of the success rate a "failed completion". The article ranks 34 passers by their failed completion percentage, here are some of the highlights:

Dak Prescott has the eighth lowest failed completion rate (21.2%), one spot ahead of Aaron Rodgers (21.9%). Jared Goff (39.3%) ranks last, one spot behind the elite Joe Flacco (33.0%). Carson Wentz (28.5%) ranks 26th, one spot ahead of the other elite QB in the league, Eli Manning (29.1%).

2016 APSE Website Contest Results – Associated Press Sports Editors
Looking for quality Sports reporting? The Associated Press Sports Editors Digital contest named the top sports websites in three different traffic-based categories. Here are the top 10 sites (sorted alphabetically) with more than two million unique monthly visitors, along with the honorable mentions.

Giants' fourth-round pick pushed back 10 spots over illegal use of walkie-talkies vs. Cowboys - SportsDay Staff
Busted!