Falcons star receiver Julio Jones may need toe surgery this offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. However, even though recovery from such a surgery would take months, it would not be expected to delay his 2017 season.
Of course, Jones has been battling a toe injury all year, and he missed two games during the regular season as a result. But he still managed to put up 1,409 receiving yards, the second-best total in the league, and six scores. The injury is not expected to impact offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan‘s play-calling in any way during Super Bowl LI.
Per Rapoport, Jones will receive a full evaluation after the Super Bowl, and depending on the source, surgery is either likely or possible. The procedure would fix torn ligaments associated with turf toe.
Jones has dealt with foot injuries in the past, but the present injury is unrelated to his prior ailments. He is also battling a sprained ankle, although that will not require surgery. He has admitted that he is in pain, but he has done his best to downplay it, calling himself “full go” for the Super Bowl even though he was officially listed as a limited participant in practice.
Perhaps even more troubling for the Falcons’ immediate prospects is the fact that starting center Alex Mack will play Super Bowl LI with a fracture in his left fibula that he suffered in the NFC Championship Game. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that, if this were the regular season, Mack could miss six to eight weeks, and while the Falcons are confident Mack will hold up in pass-blocking, they are uncertain whether he will be effective on downfield blocks or whether his leg will even hold up for a full four quarters.
The fracture occurred above the plate that Mack had inserted in his left leg after he broke his fibula in 2014, though Schefter does not mention what the offseason holds for Mack. Mack will join an impressive list of players who played in the Super Bowl despite a similar injury. Jack Youngblood played in Super Bowl XIV with a broken fibula; Charles Woodson played in Super Bowl XXVII after having surgery for a crack in his right fibula a month earlier; and Terrell Owens played in Super Bowl XXXIX with a fractured fibula and torn ligament in his right ankle.
Contrary to some megadeals for one player, the 2011 Julio Jones trade ended up benefiting the team that sacrificed draft picks instead of the franchise that acquired them. And this might come up during Super Bowl LI on Sunday since Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff made the trade against the urging of former boss Bill Belichick.
“Bill was very open about it. He felt it was something he would not do. He said, ‘Thomas, are you sure you want to do this? You’re gonna be tied to this for the rest of your career,'” Dimitroff said, via Michael Silver of NFL.com. “We talked for 30 or 40 minutes. I remember coming back around at the end, saying, ‘All due respect — if and when you see we’re gonna pull the trigger on this tonight, your words didn’t fall on deaf ears.’ And in my mind I was thinking, [Forget] it: We’re doing this. It was surreal. Here’s a Hall of Fame coach and team-builder telling me not to do it, and I’m doing this anyway!”
The Falcons held the No. 27 selection after joining the Patriots as 2010 No. 1 seeds ousted in the divisional round. They surrendered four picks to the Browns for the No. 6 selection. Dimitroff authorized two first-round selections to go to Cleveland in the deal. No players remain on the Browns from that exchange.
Here’s more coming out of the NFC champions’ headquarters on the eve of their first Super Bowl in 18 years.
Newly crowned NFL MVP Matt Ryan will become the highest-paid player in football if he signs an extension this coming offseason — regardless of Sunday’s result, Joel Corry of CBS Sports tweets. The first Falcon to earn MVP acclaim, the 31-year-old Ryan has two more seasons remaining on his current deal, one that pays him the 11th-most money on average for QBs. But Falcons owner Arthur Blank said this week Ryan “will be” compensated well. He’s playing on the five-year, $103.75MM deal signed in 2013. That deal made Ryan the second-highest-paid player in football at the time. No player presently surpasses the $25MM-AAV mark, and Ryan — on the heels of a dominant regular season and amid a dynamic playoffs — could get there. Walk-year quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr could push for that distinction as well, but Corry believes Ryan’s deal will be the new standard. Andrew Luck‘s $24.59MM per year represents the current high-water mark.
Alex Mack looks set to play on Sunday after turning heads in practice this week, NFL.com’s Tiffany Blackmon reports (on Twitter). The standout center’s fibula injury “concerned” Dan Quinn this week, with Mack being a key presence in Atlanta’s ground game. Ben Garland serves as the Falcons’ backup center but saw Mack start in each of the NFC champions’ 18 games this season.
The seminal Jones trade serves as only one of the reasons the Browns helped the Falcons reach this stage. Cleveland bypassing the opportunity to select Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr with its No. 23 pick instead of Johnny Manziel in 2014 likely irked then-Browns OC Kyle Shanahan, per Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal, helping lead to his one-year tenure in northeast Ohio. Shanahan soon joined the Falcons after asking to be released from his contract.
Devonta Freeman is seeking “elite” money on his second contract. The Falcons’ starting running back becomes extension-eligible after the Super Bowl.
Derrick Johnson is optimistic he’ll be ready to suit up for Chiefs training camp in July, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports. The former All-Pro is coming off his second torn Achilles’ tendon in three years and will turn 35 this year. Still, the inside linebacker’s return revitalized the 2015 Kansas City defense, and the Chiefs missed his presence against the Steelers after he went down in December. Johnson plans to play out the final two years of the three-year, $21MM deal he signed last year.
“I’m trying to win the Super Bowl, so my obligation is two more years and I want to do everything I can to make an impact to help [Chiefs chairman] Clark Hunt and the people that brought me here to win a Super Bowl,” Johnson said, via Paylor. “I’m not that guy trying to hold on. I really want to make an impact. If I see I’m hurting the team, that’s when I’ll have to think like ‘OK, that’s it.”
The Chiefs held out several starters in their previous training camp, so Johnson surmounting a second Achilles malady to suit up by July could be pushing it.
Let’s take a look at the latest from around the league on Super Bowl eve.
Pat McAfee‘s early retirement leaves the Colts without the NFL’s yards-per-punt leader in 2016. But the team could ask for $400K of the retired punter’s $1MM signing bonus he received as part of a five-year, $14.5MM contract, Mike Wells of ESPN.com notes. This would be somewhat interesting if they did go after that rather modest sum, considering, as Wells notes, the Seahawks didn’t pursue Marshawn Lynch‘s $5MM bonus when he retired last year. The Colts clear $2.8MM in cap space in 2017 and $2.7MM in ’18 because of McAfee’s retirement. The Colts haven’t placed McAfee on the reserve/retired list because the 29-year-old specialist hasn’t submitted retirement papers yet.
A Jimmy Garoppolo trade would involve the passer agreeing to a new contract, CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora tweets in an effort to remind that the backup has some leverage here. The Browns and Bears have been pondering Garoppolo pursuits. The Patriots‘ backup quarterback has one season remaining on his deal.
Johnny Manziel‘s comeback has elicited disparate responses from NFL personnel men. “I don’t think anyone will touch him,” one personnel man told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. An anonymous GM believes one team will give the embattled quarterback a chance. Another GM added the return bid would be “unlikely, but you never know. It would be tough as a starter. Quality backup level.” Manziel plans to submit to drug testing before re-entering the league.
Former Jaguars linebackers coach Robert Saleh could land with the 49ers or Chargers, a source tells Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Saleh worked under Gus Bradley dating back to the pair’s years with the Texans, who also employed Kyle Shanahan during Saleh’s stay in Houston.
The Chiefs are looking to upgrade at quarterback after a loss in the divisional round for a second straight season.
The Cowboys’ unquestioned starter for nearly 10 years, Tony Romo is now a key element in the NFL offseason because of his arrow pointing out of Dallas. While it’s no certainty the Cowboys will let him go, he wants another chance to be a starter. And several teams have emerged on his prospective list.
Sources pointed to Romo preferring the Broncos last month, and the latest coming out of the Romo sweepstakes leads to the 36-year-old quarterback wanting to play for a contender. The Broncos, Chiefs, Cardinals and Texans are on this short list, one that does not appear to include the Bills despite the franchise’s interest. Each of Romo’s choices has a reason not to pursue the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, but with the exception of the Cards, none of these teams has a better option. That is, if Romo is healthy after two injury-besieged seasons.
It would qualify as a high-profile risk, and one teams likely aren’t willing to take due to the veteran’s league-high $24.7MM 2017 cap number. But given how close the aforementioned AFC squads are to Super Bowl contention with suboptimal passing attacks, acquiring a proven veteran like this should be considered.
Initially zooming to the front of the Romo race, the Broncos are reluctant to trade for Romo. Although, despite John Elway‘s proclamation about the team preferring another Trevor Siemian-vs.-Paxton Lynch battle — one likely to be tilted toward Lynch — Mike Klis of 9News reported recently the Broncos could be interested in Romo as a free agent. They obviously have experience in this kind of decision, but having Lynch as an incumbent is a bit different than only Tim Tebow standing in Peyton Manning‘s path in 2012.
The Broncos’ recent first-round investment in Lynch makes wanting to see what the 6-foot-7 prospect can do soon reasonable, but after a year in which he struggled in Gary Kubiak‘s offense, the raw talent having to learn Mike McCoy‘s could make him closer to a longer-term project than a player who would help complement the Broncos’ elite defense next season. Due to Denver not having a franchise-quarterback salary on its books and deploying the No. 1 DVOA defense in back-to-back seasons, a Romo/Broncos partnership should remain a high-volume talking point for a while. Although, the Broncos currently have the worst offensive line of the teams in this conversation, which should be a factor for an injury-prone passer.
Kansas City is now 0-for-5 in its past five divisional-playoff games, spanning 22 seasons, after losing to Pittsburgh despite the Chiefs scoring two more touchdowns than did the Steelers. The Chiefs are a logical Romo destination because management may be determining Alex Smith has taken the team as far as he can. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier today the Chiefs are eyeing a quarterback upgrade.
Romo would be the only quarterback, among veterans who figure to be available this year, that would qualify as an upgrade on the 32-year-old Smith. Although, the Chiefs have a staggering modern history of eschewing the draft route for veteran signal-callers. From Joe Montana to Smith, the Chiefs’ preferred signal-callers have been veterans. This string predates Montana, with Todd Blackledge (1983) being the franchise’s last first-round QB choice. So it could be time for management to look toward a younger heir apparent. But the Chiefs’ nucleus appears close to pushing for a Super Bowl, and Smith’s $7.2MM dead money figure makes a split more plausible than in the past.
Houston may have made the most sense for Romo due to its proximity to Dallas and having a defense housing J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. It would have been an ideal fit before the team’s ill-fated Brock Osweiler investment. The Texans, though, are believed to be prepared to draft a quarterback and are not expected to pursue Romo. The Texans have at least one more year before they’re able to make a non-damaging Osweiler cut. The four-year, $72MM deal would come with a $25MM dead money blow if Houston was to release Osweiler in 2017. Next year, that figure drops to $6MM. And making that financial sacrifice for a player who hasn’t been healthy for a full season since 2014 would be risky.
The Cardinals are also equipped to win after advancing to the 2015 NFC championship game, but they might be due for another season with their incumbent 37-year-old passer. Bruce Arians expects Carson Palmer to announce a return soon, and Larry Fitzgerald coming back would make a Palmer 2017 re-emergence more likely.
Romo is currently signed through 2019, and the Cowboys are looking set to continue the Dak Prescott era. Despite Prescott’s nondescript pedigree, he shined in Dallas’ ball-control offense and played well in the team’s last-second playoff defeat. Having him under team control for three more seasons on a rookie deal makes this an easy decision.
The interest in Romo should be constant, pointing to a trade. But the aforementioned contending teams won’t be eager to make that happen. If no trade materializes, the Cowboys would be forced to decide if they want to follow through on carrying the league’s most expensive backup. They are currently projected to be $11MM over the cap, complicating this situation further.
So, where do you think Romo will play in 2017? Will he follow Manning’s path to Denver? Will the Chiefs pull the plug on the Smith experiment after four years? How serious are the Texans about avoiding this pursuit? Is there a darkhorse team out there?
During interviews with the franchise’s first head coach, Shad Khan said Tom Coughlin did not ask for control over the Jaguars’ 53-man roster. But the owner gave it to the former Jags and Giants HC despite Coughlin not having any NFL executive experience.
“For this thing to work, Tom can’t be a hood ornament,” Khan said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. “For him to contribute, he has to have some authority and this is one way of giving him the authority. In all fairness, he never asked for it. The more I thought about it and reflected on it, he doesn’t want to be a pencil-pushing executive. We want his experience and his judgment to help the Jags win.”
This will mean a lesser role for GM Dave Caldwell, who will sink a notch lower on the Jags’ totem pole behind the franchise’s new executive vice president. Khan respects the way Caldwell constructed the roster while noting the 42-year-old executive could learn from the 70-year-old Coughlin.
“I think Dave’s done a great job on talent, but he’s a young guy. I think he can learn lot from Tom. There might be a natural human emotion [from Caldwell] of, ‘Gee …’ but I think if you look at what’s best for the Jaguars, I think this is the structure,” Khan said, via John Oehser of Jaguars.com. “Dave gets to do the talent, and I think he’s worked hard. It’s, ‘How do we get more wins?’”
Khan acknowledged the disparity between the interest in the Jaguars’ HC job in 2013 compared to the 2016-17 search that ended with interim HC Doug Marrone in the top sideline spot. While promoting the interim HC doesn’t sound as glamorous as hiring then-Seahawks DC Gus Bradley, Khan, via Oehser, pointed to the talent on the roster making a different impression this time around. The Jaguars have not won more than five games in a season since 2010 but were a trendy pick to make some noise last season.
“I think the big difference was we had a huge amount of interest this time around. The most important thing was really getting it down to the short list [of candidates], and literally anybody and everybody we wanted to talk to was interested. It also confirmed that we do have the talent. Otherwise there wouldn’t be the interest. Four years ago that was the common thread – that ‘you guys are so far [from contending]’ that they [candidates] could get something more to their liking. This time around we had the talent and we had the interest.”
Junior Galetteseems confident he will be back in Washington in 2017, but Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link) clarifies the pass-rusher’s standing. Since the Redskins placed Galette on the NFI list after his torn Achilles last summer, the Redskins still retain his rights, Jones reports. However, the sides are planning to rework his deal, per Jones.
Galette re-signed in Washington on a one-year deal worth $4MM in March of 2016. Spending the season on the NFI list meant Galette did not accrue a season toward free agency, so he remains on his previous Redskins contract. Washington did not place Galette on its NFI list in 2015 since Galette suffered the injury during training camp. He has not played for the Redskins despite signing two deals, but the former Saints edge threat said earlier this week a new contract is in the works. Set to turn 29 in March, Galette will have to rebuild his stock.
Here’s more from the Eastern divisions.
Tyrod Taylor wants to stay with the Bills, the quarterback said during Super Bowl week radio interview on WGR 550 (via Nick Shook of NFL.com) but acknowledges it’s a “sitting and waiting” game now. Having signed a deal that becomes a long-term commitment if he’s still on the Bills’ roster by March 11, Taylor wanting to stay in Buffalo is natural. This offseason, the run-based quarterback’s status has shuffled from being likely gone to a candidate to stay after the hire of Taylor fan Rick Dennison as OC. Doug Whaley indicated his sports hernia injury won’t have any bearing on whether or not he stays. Of course, Taylor not being able to pass a physical by March 11 would ensure it.
Rob Gronkowski wants to play at least six more years, which is where the tight end places fellow Patriots icon Tom Brady‘s timeline at as well. “I don’t really think about it. Every single day I’m with Brady, and he’s talking about how he’s going to play six more years,” Gronkowski told the crowd (via Phil Perry of NESN.com). “So, like, in my mind, how can I stop playing before Brady? I came into the league like 50 years after him. I plan on playing as long as I possibly can.” This gels with a previous Brady proclamation his goal is to play until he’s 45. Brady will be 40 next season, his 18th in the league should he return. The 27-year-old Gronkowski is under contract for three more years but has become a major injury risk.
A Tony Romo-to-Denver scenario could leave a team like the Jets as a landing spot for 2016 starter Trevor Siemian, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. However, due to Siemian’s rookie deal, Cimini notes the Broncos would have the leverage in a trade discussion, and he doesn’t see the Jets giving up a second-rounder for the once-surprising starter. Cimini also notes the Jets had a middle-round grade on Paxton Lynch, adding the Broncos — who obviously held the Memphis product in higher regard — aren’t going to trade him no matter what happens with Romo. The Jets have only Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg under contract for 2017.
While the Saints have a clear-cut starting quarterback for next season, could the organization still look to draft an eventual replacement for Drew Brees? For what it’s worth, head coach SeanPayton expressed his interest in Clemson’s Deshaun Watson earlier this week.
“There’s something special about him, right?” said Payton (via ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett). “And when you watch the game, it’s always interesting to hear him talk afterward. And I think he appears to have all those things that we’re looking for.”
While Watson could theoretically fall to the Saints at the 11th pick, Payton was adamant that he’s not looking to replace Brees, who finished this past season with 5,208 passing yards and 37 touchdowns.
“That transaction may take place, not in the same year (Brees) is being replaced,” Payton said. “We pay close attention to, ‘Hey, what are the signs?’ And I don’t see any, we don’t see any. We just finished reading our team, and (Brees’) preparation, his attention to detail is amazing. His movement skills … these guys are so much further along in regards to their rest, their recovery, nutrition.”
Let’s dive into some other notes from around the NFC…
While it’s unlikely, Brees acknowledged that he’d still want to keep playing in the event that he’s released by the Saints. “If the Saints came to me right now and said, ‘You’re not our guy right now, we’re releasing you,’ I’d say, ‘I’ve still got football left in me. I’m gonna go play,’” the quarterback said (via Triplett). “I just don’t ever desire to go anywhere else and play for any other team.”
University of Florida defensive backs coach TorrianGray is leaving the school to join the Redskins coaching staff, reports Robbie Andreu of The Gainesville Sun (via Twitter). Zac Jackson of ProFootballTalk.com reports that Gray will be Washington’s new defensive backs coach. Besides a one-year stint as the Bears defensive backs coach, Gray had been coaching in the NCAA since 2000.
Falcons offensive coordinator (and soon-to-be 49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan acknowledged that he liked Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppoloheading into the 2014 draft. “He was a very good thrower,” the former Browns offensive coordinator told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland. “Tough guy, kept his eyes down the field, could get rid of the ball fast. Really liked the person. Had a chance to go out to dinner with him and stuff. He played at Eastern Illinois, and it was a different type of offense where you can’t always evaluate with how quick they get rid of the ball. But I really thought he was a very intelligent, tough player with a good throwing motion.” There will be a handful of teams that will inquire on the 25-year-old, and the 49ers could be one of those squads.
The NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement isn’t set to expire until 2020, but reports from October indicated that the league’s owners were hoping to extend the deal. Well, USA Today’s Tom Pelissero passes along quotes (via Twitter) from Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association DeMaurice Smith, who says the current CBA will not be extended.
“There’s not gonna be an extension of the CBA,” Smith said in late January (via Mark Maske of The Washington Post). “I don’t know what [Roger Goodell is] thinking when he says extension. But there’s not gonna be an extension of the CBA. If the owners are interested in talking about issues that are currently covered by the CBA or issues that aren’t currently covered by the CBA and they want to have a renegotiation on some of those issues, we’ll have a renegotiation of those issues. But there’s not going to be a 2025 [or] 2027 addendum to the CBA that says, ‘We’re good with this.’
“I don’t think that’s what he meant when he said extension. But I don’t spend a whole heck of a lot of time trying to unpack what other people are thinking when they say stuff.”
Of course, Smith acknowledged that the current deal could be renegotiated as the two sides work out some differences regarding the current CBA. Television revenue and stadium credits are among the “issues” that the two sides continue to chat about, according to Pelissero (via Twitter). Jason Cole of Bleacher Reports adds (via Twitter) that the player’s union is also planning on taking a look at the “use of marijuana in pain management.” ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano notes that one course of action could allow NFL players to receive a “therapeutic use exemption” when it comes to marijuana.
When the owners were pushing for an extension in October, they were concerned with funding for potential stadiums in Las Vegas and San Diego. While the Raiders are still eyeing a potential move to Sin City, the Chargers have already announced that they’ll be moving to Los Angeles in 2017.
Yahoo’s Charles Robinson writes that the players aren’t inclined to extend or renegotiate the CBA because of the rapidly growing cap. While the cap was only $123MM in 2013, it’s expected to grow to $165MM this offseason, a more than $1.34 billion increase when you account for the entire league. Robinson notes that we’re still not close to any labor issues, but the fact that the NFL is already to looking for changes (while the union is looking to stay put) is certainly telling.
Nick Novak had a career-year in 2016, and some members of the Texans organization believe he played a major role in the team clinching a playoff birth.
The 35-year-old played last season on a one-year, $965K contract, and the impending free agent would like to return to Houston for the 2017 campaign.
“I want to be back,” Novak told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done and I’m excited to be back with the same guys. I really feel like I can help the Texans get to where they want to go. I leave it up to my agent and the personnel department to get a deal done.
“I don’t know what kind of progress is being made, but it’s all positive. I’ve heard some really good things from [general manager] Rick Smith, [coach] Bill O’Brien, [special teams coordinator] Larry Izzo. We’ll see what happens.”
Let’s check out some more notes coming out of Houston…
The Texans passing offense was among the worst in the league this past season, and Smith understands that the team needs more out of the quarterback position if they want to contend. “We’ve got to get better production from the quarterback position,” Smith told Wilson. “We’ve got to get better production from all across our football team. We’ve got to do a good job of analyzing our football team, and that’s what we’re doing now, trying to figure out where we’re strong, where we’re weak and how we can go about improving.” Of course, Smith did note that he still believes in starter Brock Osweiler, who is owed $16MM next season. Reports from earlier this week indicated that the organization would likely take a quarterback in the upcoming draft.
Despite having one of the worse seasons of his career, wideout DeAndre Hopkins is still to eager to stick around Houston. “I love this organization and what this team is doing,” Hopkins told Wilson. “It seems like we’re getting better and better every year, so why not?” We learned earlier this week that the Texans would like to extend Hopkins, who finished last season with 78 receptions for 954 yards and four touchdowns.
A.J. Bouye is in line for a well-deserved payday, writes Wilson. Instead of taking a less-lucrative, multi-year offer last offseason, the cornerback decided to opt for a one-year, $1.6MM contract with the Texans. The 25-year-old clearly made the right decision, as he’s projected to be the best free agent defensive back. Wilson expects that the Texans will have around $25MM in cap space, and he projects Bouye to receive an offer that pays around $13MM annually.
The Chiefs have finished with a winning record in each of their four seasons with Alex Smith under center. However, the team has only made three playoff appearances, and they’ve been incapable of advancing past the divisional round. As a result, the Chiefs may be looking for a change, and there’s an obvious name that they could pursue.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Chiefs have been looking to upgrade the quarterback position following their playoff loss to the Steelers. The writer suggests that the organization could end up going after Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
“It was noteworthy when Andy Reid was non-committal to Alex Smith,” Rapoport said. “They’ve made a QB trade in the past, doing so for Alex Smith. They’d have to be considered someone who would be a possibility.”
The connection between Romo and the Chiefs isn’t very surprising, as Romo listed Kansas City as one of his “favored destinations” (along with the Broncos, Texans, and Cardinals). If the Chiefs did somehow acquire Romo, it’s unlikely that Smith would be part of that swap or any other trade. Rapoport notes that the Chiefs would likely cut the veteran quarterback, which would leave the organization with $7MM in dead money. The 32-year-old has two years remaining on his contract, and his 2018 cap hit is projected to be north of $20MM.
Smith threw for a career-high 3,502 passing yards this past season, but it was an otherwise typical season for the 11-year veteran. Smith’s 67.1-percent completion percentage, 15 touchdowns, and eight interceptions were generally on par with his career numbers, and the Chiefs once again ranked towards the bottom of the league in passing offense.
Of course, Smith still put up better numbers than Romo, who sat out the majority of the season with a back injury. The 36-year-old ultimately appeared in one game this season, completing three of his four pass attempts for 29 yards and one touchdown. With the organization opting to build around Dak Prescott, Rapoport notes that the veteran quarterback is open to a trade. However, the writer also reports that Romo is still considering retirement.
