COWBOYS OWNER JERRY JONES DEFENDS TONY ROMO FOLLOWING ARREST

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If you are counting the people who are still in Tony Romo’s corner following his DUI arrest — and possibly the undoing of his lucrative broadcasting career — put Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at the front of that group.

Jones came to Romo’s defense following his arrest on July 23 on allegations of driving under the influence in Wisconsin.

Speaking to Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth’s Mike Doocy from Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, Jones was 1 of the few to stick up for Romo over the last week, and said he’d been in communication with Romo several times since the arrest.

"I’ve been talking to him … I love him, I love what he’s about, I love his character,” Jones told Doocy. “He’s a very, very unique talent, and the real question is, and I don’t even have to ask what the answer is, is do you think Tony Romo knows how to get up when he gets knocked down? He’s had a life of that. And that’s one of his greatest attributes. He can handle adversity and this is something that he will work through.”

Romo was put on indefinite leave by CBS Sports as their lead NFL color commentator following his arrest, with 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt taking his spot alongside play-by-play man Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracey Wolfson on the network’s No. 1 NFL coverage team.

“There have been very few players Jerry Jones and family have held in higher regard than Tony Romo,” NFL reporter Ed Werder wrote on his official X account on August 1.

Tony Romo, CBS Sports at Odds Over Contract

Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS Sports in 2020 that 1 television executive told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand was the “worst contract in media history.”

While earning praise for his acuity and wit on broadcasts before signing the contract, Romo has turned into a liability in the years since.

"CBS clearly does not want the cloud from this story to shade its most important property,” Marchand wrote on July 31. ” … Romo comes across as a very affable guy and many have described him to me over the years as a ‘big kid.’ But he is not known as a hard worker, and it has shown on the air. Prior to his massive new deal, Nantz and Romo were welcoming comparisons to Pat Summerall and John Madden. Since then, the duo has regressed, and Romo often sounded unprepared, saying odd things.”

Tony Romo Defined Era for Cowboys

Romo played for the Cowboys from 2003 to 2016, where he was a 4-time Pro Bowl selection and earned NFL All-Pro honors in 2014.

Romo made the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and became the full-time starter in 2006. In 10 seasons as a starter, Romo led the Cowboys to the playoffs 4 times before a preseason back injury saw him lose his starting job to current Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in 2016.

Romo retired after the season and went directly into the broadcast booth.

In 13 seasons, Romo threw for franchise records of 34,183 yards and 248 touchdowns. He also set NFL records for the most consecutive road games with a touchdown pass (41) and most games in a single season with a passer rating of at least 135.0 (6).

- Tony Adame

COWBOYS GREAT TROY AIKMAN RIPS LAZY $136 MILLION STAR, FELLOW WRS

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (middle)

In terms of personnel, Cowboys backers are aware of the attrition that struck in the last seven months, with the team allowing key free agents to leave and not doing all that much to replace them. Don’t mention past transactions to Jerry Jones, of course, but when it comes to Cowboys great Troy Aikman, you might get a more honest assessment of what’s going on with the messiest 3-3 team in the NFL.

Offseason moves aside, Aikman said on Thursday that the Cowboys problems are not limited to the players who are no longer on the team—there’s plenty to worry about with the players who are still around.

Speaking on Dallas sports radio, 96.7 The Ticket, Aikman laid into one of the units that is not supposed to be all that bad for the Cowboys: the receivers.

And he started with star playmaker CeeDee Lamb, who was given a four-year, $136 million contract after missing training camp and most of the preseason, but has not been up to snuff yet this season.

“I think the routes are terrible. I think they run terrible routes,” Aikman said (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “And I’ve thought that beyond this year. I think CeeDee (Lamb) has got to improve in his route running. As a quarterback, if you’re not certain where guys are going to be consistently, it’s hard to play the position. That’s what I see”

CeeDee Lamb Not the Only WR at Fault

The criticism was not limited to Lamb, either. The Cowboys’ No. 2 receiver, Brandin Cooks, has been out with an infection in his knee that will cause him to miss four games (he has missed two). Not having his veteran leadership has hurt, but the problems go beyond Cooks.

Said Aikman: “I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they run, usually if they do, it’s because they’re anticipating they’re going to get the football on that play, but if they’re not, they don’t. And it all ties together. I’m not impressed with that part of it.”

Lamb is the most obvious target, though, because he is coming off a year in which he led the league and set a franchise record with 135 receptions, for 1,749 yards.  His yards per game have dropped from 102.9 last year to 77.8 this year, and he is catching just 58.2% of the balls thrown his way.

The team’s No. 3 receiver, Jalen Tolbert, has played well, with 24 catches and 290 yards, and a 70.6% catch rate. But he is inexperienced, as are the Cowboys’ other options, Kavontae Turpin and Jalen Brooks.

Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Putting up Subpar Numbers

Aikman offered his view of what’s happening with the Cowboys receivers as a defense of quarterback Dak Prescott, who is also collecting a major new contract, having landed a $240 million, four-year deal just before the start of the season.

But Prescott has been under pressure thanks to the Cowboys putting out two rookies on the offensive line, and combined with the lack of execution from the receivers, Prescott has been able to put up only eight touchdowns and six interceptions.

His 85.5 quarterback rating is the worst of his career.

“It’s hard to play the (quarterback) position if you’re not certain how guys are going to run routes or where they’re going to be,” Aikman said. “And I’m not speaking for Dak (Prescott). Dak may say, ‘Hey, I think (their routes) are amazing.’ But as a former quarterback watching it, it’s gotta get a lot better.”

- Sean Deveney

DOLPHINS TOP COWBOYS, SECURE PLAYOFF SPOT ON-LAST SECOND FIELD GOAL

AP

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Jason Sanders kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 29-yarder as time expired, and the Miami Dolphins secured a playoff berth with a 22-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Tua Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards and a touchdown for the AFC East-leading Dolphins (11-4), who beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season. He connected with Tyreek Hill twice on the decisive drive, which covered 64 yards and took the final 3:27 off the clock.

Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards, had nine catches for 99 yards after missing last week's victory over the New York Jets with an ankle injury.

Dak Prescott went 20-of-32 for 253 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (10-5), who have already clinched a playoff spot but fell a half-game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.

Prescott put Dallas in front 20-19 with an 8-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Brandin Cooks in the corner of the end zone. But the Cowboys were haunted by their red zone struggles earlier in the game, including a fumble by Prescott on first-and-goal from inside the 1 on Dallas' first possession.

Sanders' first field goal was a career-long 57-yarder in the first quarter. He added kicks of 52, 54 and 35 yards to help the Dolphins take a 19-10 lead late in the third.

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RANKING NFL'S 10 BIGGEST DRAFT BUSTS DINCE 1990: WHERE TREY LANCE RANKS AFTER BEING TRADED TO COWBOYS

JaMarcus Russell 

In a perfect world, every team would find a diamond in the rough the same way the Patriots found Tom Brady (sixth-round pick in 2000) and Stefon Diggs (fifth-round pick, 2015). Unfortunately, though, more often than not teams end up spending a high draft pick on a player that doesn't end up panning out. A classic example of this is quarterback Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick that was traded from San Francisco to Dallas on Friday night. 

Although that's the fantasy, the reality is that there's a much more likely chance that your favorite team will end up drafting a total bust. Over the years, there have been dozens of busts, so following Lance trade, now seems like a good time to rank the 10 biggest busts since 1990. 

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