The former Dallas Cowboys signal caller thought that the New York Jets should pursue Tony Romo to fill their void at the quarterback position.
It’s no secret that the New York Jets have major issues at the quarterback position. It’s all but certain that Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith won’t be back with the team come next season. Plus, Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg both don’t appear to be nearly ready to take over the offense.That leaves the Jets in a tough spot. They learned the hard way what paying a stop gap like Fitzpatrick could do to your team.
So do the Jets try a proven commodity like Tony Romo? Troy Aikman thinks it could be worth a shot for Gang Green.
“I think Tony would fit in great in New York,” Aikman said.
I would like a few minutes of rebuttal – please Mr. Aikman.
I’m not actually a Romo hater — I think he was a good QB in his day, but with his injury history, it’s just not worth the risk.
First of all, he hasn’t played a full 16 game season since 2012. That’s four seasons ago! Sure, in 2014, when he played 15 games, he put up good numbers — a 113.2 quarterback rating with 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions is some very productive work.
At that point, he was 34-years-old. Now, he’s 36 and has played just five games in the last two years. The amount the Jets would have to give up either via trade or in a new contract would absolutely not be worth it.
The likelihood of Romo getting hurt is greater than him staying healthy and the Jets making the playoffs. Even if the stars align and he stays in good health and you make the playoffs, the Jets would still be just a Wild Card team. Let’s face it — a Tom Brady–led Pats team is still better than a Tony Romo-led Jets team, so you’re looking at a five seed at best.
Maybe the Jets get lucky and match up with an AFC South team in the first round and end up with one playoff win, but you’re not getting much past that.
The ultimate goal is to win a championship. Even with Romo, the Jets wouldn’t be at a championship level. The Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs and Raiders would all be more talented than the Jets.
The team just needs to focus on getting younger and developing home grown talent. No more quick fixes, that clearly hasn’t worked. Romo would just be a temporary – most likely very temporary due to injury concerns – solution to a problem that would just re-present itself in a year or so.
The lack of a franchise quarterback has simply plagued the Jets for far too many decades now. So it’s time to start from square one.
