The Denver Broncos have been a major player in the Tony Romo saga from the minute it was rumored he would be released by the Dallas Cowboys. The only challenger appeared to be the Houston Texans.
Yet, as the weeks pressed on when Jerry Jones decided not to release Romo as promised on March 9th, the rumors of the Broncos interest have shifted significantly towards standing pat. In a poker match, Elway clearly doesn’t bluff.
“It’s not the intent to go that direction,’’ Elway told Mike Klis of 9News on Monday.
The big news people wanted to know on Monday was whether or not Elway has even spoken to Jones about Romo yet, but clearly he has no intention of even broaching the subject.
“Nope. Same old thing. He's still under contract with the Cowboys," said Elway. “Like we've said, we really feel good about the two young ones that we have. Trevor did a good job for us last year and Paxton was young. The plan is to stay the course there and see what's available in the draft. We'll go from there. But we like both. Paxton was a first-rounder last year for a reason, and then Trevor came in and played very well. It'll be a great competition between them in the spring.”
This shouldn’t be surprising and it really doesn’t tell us anything new, because the Texans are saying the exact same thing in regards to Romo.
“Well first of all, Tony is under contract so he's a Dallas Cowboy," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "We feel like, right now, we have two quarterbacks that'll be there on April 17, the beginning of our offseason program. It'll be Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden. We are really looking forward to working with those guys. Both those guys can throw the football.”
Looking at those two quotes makes me feel like these two, Elway and O’Brien, sat down at some point this week to get their stories straight. It’s hilariously that similar.
In any case, if Elway doesn’t flinch and holds firm, then the salary cap space the Broncos currently have could actually be used to somehow procure the services of a quality left tackle.
Then the competition really starts as Paxton Lynch has been busting his tail off this offseason, while Trevor Siemian has been limited from his shoulder injury. It could put them on even ground to start training camp under a new coaching staff and a new offensive system.