With the New York Jets in need of a new veteran quarterback and the Cowboys in need of an upgrade to the D-line, a trade involving Sheldon Richardson and Tony Romo could be in play.
It is no secret that the New York Jets have not had a reliable starting quarterback on their team for a long time now, as this team has gone through 12 different starters under center since the start of the 2000 season.Some quarterbacks were youngsters who came from the draft such as Mark Sanchez, Chad Pennington, or Geno Smith, while others were veterans the Jets acquired such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brett Favre, or Michael Vick.
Nonetheless, the Jets have had little luck the past 16 years trying to find an answer at quarterback, long and short term.
With it being very unlikely that both Fitzpatrick or Smith will return next season, the Jets would only have two quarterbacks on their 2017 roster who ended the 2016 season on the team. Those two are Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, who are both still young developing quarterbacks.
If both Fitzpatrick and Smith leave the Jets, this team would be lacking a veteran presence at the position. With Petty not showing much during his four starts last season and Hackenberg reportedly “regressing” throughout the season, the Jets need to find a new veteran if they want to win in 2017.
So who could be the veteran quarterback to lead the Jets next season? He is currently the backup quarterback on the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season, Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys.
Even though the 36-year-old Romo is currently the second string to rookie sensation Dak Prescott and has suffered multiple injuries within the past few seasons, he has made it clear that he wants to be a starter once again in 2017.
After fracturing his back during the preseason, Romo has been 100% healthy since November, but never started a game this season due to the fact that Prescott was tearing it up under center and helping the Cowboys win games.
With this being said, Romo should enter training camp this summer more than ready to play.
Tony Romo going to the Jets would make sense as New York has offensive players who are ready to win now. At wide receiver, the Jets have veterans Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker with a very talented young slot receiver in Quincy Enunwa. They also have two explosive running backs who can get the job done in Matt Forte and Bilal Powell.
Overall, the Jets have talented veteran weapons on offense, they just lack a well-experienced leader like Romo who can get them the ball.
If the Jets could do this and fix their offensive line issues, they offense could have a very successful season in 2017, much like they did in 2015 when the team finished 10-6.
Sure, Romo has had some health issues these past few years, but when he is healthy and on the field, he can be one of the most elite quarterbacks in the game.
In his 11-year NFL career, Romo has a completion percentage of 65.3 percent along with multiple playoff appearances and a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio.
If this trade was to happen, the Jets would be getting a valuable veteran short-term solution at quarterback in an attempt to go all in for 2017.
On the other hand, Sheldon Richardson is entering a contract year next season, which could be very beneficial to the Cowboys.
If Jerry Jones likes what he sees in the 26-year-old defensive end, he can re-sign Richardson to stay with the Cowboys, but if the Cowboys don’t want Richardson to stay with the team beyond 2017, they can simply let him leave via free agency.
Even though the Cowboys have had a very successful 2016 regular season, their defensive front is still a point of weakness as they rely heavily on their explosive offense. Adding Richardson would help improve their defensive line in 2017.
Since the Jets already have a very talented defensive front with guys such as Muhammad Wilkerson, Leonard Williams and Steve McClendon, the Jets can afford to give up Richardson for Romo.
A trade involving Richardson for a solid veteran quarterback like Romo is something the Jets should highly consider during this upcoming offseason to help towards a bounce back year.
