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5 Reasons Why Tony Romo Made The Right Decision To Retire

Tony Romo’s retirement is probably the best decision for him.

In case folks have missed it, Romo announced he would in fact leave the game he has loved for quite some time for a broadcasting career, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

But even though he leads greats, including Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees in game-winning drives from 2006 to 2014, his resume has, in fact, dictated the best possible scenario, whether he would be joining them as one of the many motivational sports speakers is yet to be seen.

First things first, Tony Romo has exactly two playoff wins in his career, has made four Pro Bowls in nine years, never once made it to the NFC championship Game and, of course, the elephant in the room, he hasn’t won a Super Bowl, which is purportedly the standard in Dallas.

Let’s omit the fact Romo holds Dallas Cowboy records in passing attempts, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns, but look at the real issue—the no.1 reason why he should retire.

A 78-49 record will only get you but so far, especially if he hasn’t at least made it to the big game one time. There are two glaring games when pondering over the career of Tony Romo: the 2007 Divisional Playoff Game and the 2014 Divisional Playoff Game.

Simply put, he could never get over the hump. Even a trip to the NFC Championship Game would have been monumental following a 2006 Wild Card Game blunder in which he botched a snap right before a potential field goal that would have given the Cowboys a win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Folks can deliberate Romo was never on good teams, but when Romo has been on teams with 12 and 13 wins, and has had the type of talent he has had, it is just a disappointment that Romo has never been able to lead his Cowboys to more than just two measly playoff wins, which is mediocrity at its finest, or worst, depending on one’s point of view.

Ineptitude would be the no. 1 reason Romo should pursue a career in broadcasting, but the no. 2 reason is quite obvious, and that is his inability to stay healthy over the last several seasons.

In 2008 Romo sprained his finger on his right hand, in 2010 Romo sprained his shoulder and missed 10 games, in 2011 Romo suffered a bruised hand, in week 16 of the 2013 season Romo herniated a disc in his back, causing immediate back surgery after a week 16 game, he fractured the transverse process in his back in week 8 of the 2014 season, and, of course, in his most recent injury, Romo fractured a vertebrae in his third preseason game, which conveniently allowed the Cowboys to start their Dak Prescott era.

So not only is his ineptitude—despite all of his statistical accomplishments—a reason for his retirement, but it is his unfortunate injury woes as to why he should leave the game. However, another reason Romo should retire is because of the maturation of Mississippi State product Prescott.

Yes, the Cowboys have one of the most talented—if not the most talented—offensive lines in football, combined with talented players such as Ezekiel Elliot, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Cole Beasley and Sean Lee, but Dak is a huge reason why the Cowboys didn’t miss a beat even with Romo hovering the sidelines.

While it looks like Dak can make all the throws, which led to his unexpected production and the Cowboys journeying to the divisional playoff game last year against the Packers, it’s his ability to stay healthy—something Romo hasn’t been able to do over the course of his career—that makes it glaringly obvious Prescott is the guy for Dallas.

We all know the icing on top of any cake is for a quarterback to elude would-be tacklers, but there are many cases quarterbacks have had the ability to run and haven’t been able to harness their talent to where their scampering power could be used for the longevity of their careers. Prime examples are Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III.

This past year—fortunately for the Cowboys—Dak has showcased he has the athleticism to escape rushers and has had the competence to get down when a 277-pound linebacker running 4.4 in the 40-yard dash wants to presumably knock him out the game. He runs to elude, but he also wants to stay healthy.

The fourth reason Romo should retire is because Romo wouldn’t best the AFC. All reports indicated Romo would have been going to Denver or Houston, but while Romo would have had the potential to sniff the playoffs, there is no way those teams would have beaten the current juggernaut in the New England Patriots, a team that has won two out of the last three Super Bowls.

With Tom Brady leading the attack on offense—and the addition of barn-burner Brandin Cooks—combined with an opportunistic defense, the Patriots are well on their way for a sixth Super Bowl title in the last 17 years.

The final reason Romo should retire is it just makes more sense to collect millions of dollars talking about a game he knows from the inside and out, rather than risk further damage to his body while being at the risk of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease of the brain which happens to football players because of their repetitive trauma to their head.

Terry Luther Long, Andre Waters, Shane Dronett, David Duerson and Junior Seau have committed suicide because of the disease; Romo needs to enter the broadcasting world and steer clear of potential brain trauma.

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