Tony Romo Traded To Texans For #1 Pick; Cowboys Will Draft Manziel
Note: This story was published on April 1st.
Unconfirmed reports are coming out of Valley Ranch this morning stating that the Dallas Cowboys have agreed in principal to a trade with the Houston Texans that will send their starting quarterback approximately 250 miles south. According to multiple unnamed sources, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has been traded to the Texans for the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft in May. In order to complete the trade, Romo will have to pass a physical and be cleared medically first. And there is slight concern over this medical evaluation as Tony is recovering from offseason back surgery.
In addition to Romo, the Texans would also receive the Cowboys first round pick in 2014 (16th overall), plus Dallas’ first and third round picks in 2015. Romo has already reacted to the trade on Twitter:
Wasting no time, a press conference is scheduled for later today at Valley Ranch presumably called by Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. It is expected that Jones will announce the Cowboys intentions to draft former Heisman winner and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the newly acquired top pick as Romo’s replacement. One unnamed source close to the team claims the Cowboys have been
playing possum
when it came to Manziel for the past month:
"“This appears to have been (the Cowboys) plan all along. Ever since interviewing him at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, the Dallas front office has had Manziel zeroed in as their top pick. Their decision to not fully attend his pro day and neglect to set up any private workouts with him have all been a smokescreen to set up this trade. They didn’t want another team sneaking past them for Manziel.”"
It has been no secret that Manziel has wanted to play for Dallas as the Texas native was actually born during half-time of a Cowboys game. And it’s assumed Jerry Jones fell in love with Manziel during a lengthy conversation the two had at a Cowboys home game after Johnny Football began playing at Texas A&M. Here’s what the young prospect had to say about that fateful meeting to the Star Telegram last month:
"“I got a chance to meet Jerry. I didn’t know him. To get a chance to sit there and talk with him – the guy is an absolute football fanatic. I really enjoyed meeting him. Until my mouth was sore from talking, and my ear was tired from hearing all of it, we sat there in his suite at Cowboys Stadium and talked for hours. It was awesome to see how he really is, how passionate he is about everything. Me growing up as a Cowboys fan – I was born at halftime of a Cowboys game – that would almost be a folktale in the correct direction.”"
The writing has been on the wall for some time concerning the status of Romo. Failing once again to lead his team to the playoffs, the quarterback’s recent rash of back surgeries was a major medical red flag. Especially for a player who will turn age 34 before the 2014 regular season begins. Last year, Romo was the fifth oldest starting quarterback in the league when the season began. The addition of former Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Scott Linehan to the Cowboys coaching staff was expected to raise Romo’s game in 2014. Instead, that move now appears to have been made in order to prepare a young quarterback to take over the reigns of America’s Team.
And, in other news, former Dallas head coach Jimmy Johnson is supposedly returning to the Cowboys as general manager. And Jerry Jones has just sold the team to Mark Cuban. And…of course, if you are reading this you should be congratulated. You have successfully “sniffed” us out. Like the tweet above, this entire story is a farce and completely phony. Happy April Fools Day from the entire Landry Hat Staff!