Chiefs Host Gavin Escobar On Visit
Cowboys free agent tight end Gavin Escobar is visiting the Chiefs today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). We have Escobar ranked as the fourth-best TE still available in free agency. 
[RELATED: Chiefs Host Rey Maualuga On Visit]
The Cowboys took Escobar in the second round of the 2013 draft with the hope that he would become a major receiving threat. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition. The San Diego State product had just 30 catches over four years with the Cowboys and they didn’t make much of an attempt to re-sign him this offseason. His best year came in 2014 when he had four touchdowns, but that came off of just nine catches.
The Chiefs currently have four tight ends under contract: Travis Kelce, Demetrius Harris, James O’Shaughnessy, and Ross Travis. Whether he signs with KC or another club, he’ll likely have to settle for a non-guaranteed deal.
Opinion: Cowboys Should End Tony Romo Saga By April 17
The Cowboys should bring an end to the Tony Romo saga by April 17, the first day of their offseason workout program, opines Joel Corry of CBS Sports. If Romo is still on their roster then, it would behoove him to report because of a clause in his contract stating his base salary will decrease by $500K if he doesn’t complete at least 90 percent of offseason workouts. But the Cowboys shouldn’t want Romo to report, observes Corry, who points out that both his $14MM salary and $24.7MM for 2017 would become guaranteed if he were to suffer a serious injury in OTAs. While the Cowboys would like to trade Romo, it’s doubtful Romo would renegotiate his contract to facilitate a deal, according to Corry, noting that his three-year, $54MM pact isn’t unreasonable money for a starting QB.
Latest On Tony Romo’s CBS Offer
As of this writing, we know of four potential suitors for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo: the Broncos, Texans, CBS, and FOX. It seems that one of those TV offers could be even more lucrative and appealing than originally thought. CBS is eyeing Romo as a potential replacement for Phil Simms in the broadcast booth, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Simms has been the color commentator alongside Jim Nantz in CBS’ “A-Team” package for the last nine seasons, meaning that the duo gets assigned to the network’s most important game every week. Going back to his time at NBC in the mid-1990s, Simms has been an top level color man for more than two decades. At this point, Simms has earned far more in the broadcast booth than he ever did as an NFL quarterback. In total, he has been involved in the broadcast of seven different Super Bowls.
If Romo were to immediately step into Simms’ gig, he would be taking on one of the top jobs in the entire industry with a salary to match. If Romo’s heart is not totally set on playing, this opportunity could be appealing enough to make him forget about suiting up for Dallas, Houston, Denver, or any other NFL team in 2017.
Cowboys’ Deadline For Tony Romo Solution Is Training Camp
The Cowboys will make a decision on the future of quarterback Tony Romo before training camp, team owner Jerry Jones told reporters, including Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).
Earlier this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Romo could stick on the Dallas roster past the draft, but Jones’ deadline extends even further. If the Cowboys hold onto Romo until training camp, he may not find a new club until July. With his options already dwindling (the Broncos seem to be content with Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch), Romo may find himself in an untenable situation this summer.
The Texans still stand out as a possible destination for Romo, and the 36-year-old reportedly believes he’ll end up choosing between Houston and retirement. Still, it’s fair to wonder if the Texans — or any other club that may have interest in Romo — is willing to wait until the summer to land its quarterback.
Of course, Romo does have off-the-field options, as both CBS and FOX are courting him as a television analyst.
Cowboys Meet With Obi Melifonwu
- The Cowboys are meeting with UConn safety Obi Melifonwu today, a source tells Eric Edholm of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Dallas is in dire need of secondary help after losing both Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox in free agency. Currently, special-teamer Jeff Heath is the starter next to Byron Jones at safety. A number of teams — including the Buccaneers, Steelers, Seahawks, and Saints — have expressed interest is Melifonwu.
Cowboys Extend Scott Linehan, Rod Marinelli
The Cowboys have extended the contracts of offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, a source tells Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram. Dallas has also signed special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia to an extension, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Linehan, specifically, had two years added to his deal, meaning he is now signed through the 2019 campaign.
[RELATED: Cowboys Extend Jason Witten]
Linehan, 53, has been with the Cowboys since 2014, and assumed the title of offensive coordinator in 2015. Despite seeing starting quarterback Tony Romo go down in the preseason, Linehan led an offense that finished third in DVOA in 2016, getting contributions from rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott (and a league-best offensive line) en route to a postseason berth. Linehan, who has also called plays for Minnesota, Miami, and Detroit, was the Rams’ head coach from 2005-08.
Marinelli, too, has been a head coach before, as he lead the Lions from 2006-08 (and was infamously in charge of Detroit’s 0-16 roster). The 67-year-old has posted much better results as a defensive coordinator, and that’s the role he’s held in Dallas since 2014. The Cowboys finished 17th in defensive DVOA last season, but Marinelli will have his work cut out for him in 2017 after the club lost Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr, Barry Church, and J.J. Wilcox to free agency.
Cowboys Extend Jason Witten
The Cowboys have signed tight end Jason Witten to an extension that will keep him in Dallas through the 2021 campaign, the club announced. The four-year deal has a maximum value of $29.6MM, but doesn’t contain any additional guaranteed cash, tweets Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News.
Set to earn a base salary of $7.4MM, Witten will count for $12.262MM on Dallas’ salary cap in 2017. That figure will not change, according to Archer (Twitter link), who indicates Witten’s cap charge will remain stagnant during the upcoming season. However, the Cowboys can still restructure Witten’s contract at any time to gain cap room.
Heading into today, Dallas was in the worst cap situation in the league, as the club had less than $2MM in 2017 cap space. While the Cowboys will pick up more room when Tony Romo is inevitably removed from the roster, the Witten extension could have handed Dallas more financial space. Surprisingly, Dallas opted not to give Witten a signing bonus that would have prorated over the next five seasons and lowered his 2017 cap figure.
From an on-field perspective, Witten’s extension allows the Cowboys to retain a still-productive tight end for the foreseeable future. 2016 marked Witten’s 14th season in Dallas, and the 10-time Pro Bowler posted 69 receptions for 673 yards and three touchdowns. He also remained remarkably durable, as he appeared in all 16 games for the 13th consecutive year (Witten’s only missed contest in his career came during his rookie campaign).
Witten will turn 35 years old this summer, so he’s now signed through his age-40 season.
Todd Archer of ESPN.com first reported the extension. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cowboys Won’t Recoup Tony Romo’s Bonus
If Tony Romo opts for retirement this offseason, the Cowboys will not attempt to recoup the $5MM in signing bonus money to which they’d be entitled, reports Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram.
Romo was paid a $25MM signing bonus when he agreed to an extension in 2013, and although that total has already been paid out, $5MM remains on the 2017 salary cap. Signing bonuses are spread out over five seasons for accounting purposes, and the contractual bargaining agreement would allow Dallas to go after that money if Romo decides to hang up his cleats.
Thus far, the 36-year-old Romo has given no indication that he’s ready to retire. In fact, reports have indicated that Romo is set on playing in 2017 despite interest from both CBS and FOX, both of whom are intrigued by Romo’s future in television. But as potential landing spots dwindle — the Broncos, at least publicly, are content to roll with their internal quarterback options — Romo may now believe the Texans or retirement are his only remaining options.
The Cowboys will also not target the signing bonus cash remaining on offensive tackle Doug Free‘s contract, per Hill. Free announced his intent to retire earlier this month.
Cowboys Not Ready To End Tony Romo Saga
Quarterback Tony Romo presumably won’t be on the Cowboys’ roster next season, nor are they likely to find a trade partner for him, but he won’t be leaving Dallas imminently. There’s a possibility the Cowboys will retain the soon-to-be 37-year-old past the draft, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The Cowboys have been hoping to trade Romo, who’s now behind Dak Prescott in their QB pecking order, but they’re lacking leverage. There are only two obvious possibilities for Romo, Denver and Houston, and the Broncos seem uninterested in acquiring the veteran. Even if the Cowboys release Romo, the Broncos don’t intend “to go that direction,” general manager John Elway told Mike Klis of 9News. Before his conversation with Klis, Elway indicated he’s content to let in-house signal-callers Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch compete for the No. 1 job in 2017.
The Texans, unlike the Broncos, don’t have anything resembling a starting QB on their roster. As a playoff-caliber team, they’re a clear fit for the accomplished Romo. One possible problem for the Texans is that they share a state with the Cowboys, whose owner, Jerry Jones, might not want to help out another Texas-based NFL franchise by cutting Romo and essentially giving him to Houston.
The likelihood is that Jones will eventually release Romo, who’s currently slated to rake in a $14MM base salary and count $24.7MM against the Cowboys’ cap in 2017. By designating Romo a post-June 1 cut, the Cowboys would save $12MM of spending space for next season. That would come in handy for a team with just under $5.5MM in breathing room at the moment.
Cowboys, Broncos Haven't Discussed Tony Romo At Owners Meetings
The Broncos were reportedly all but out of the Tony Romo sweepstakes as of Friday, and nothing has occurred at the NFL owners meetings to suggest otherwise. Broncos general manager John Elway hasn’t engaged in any trade talks at the meetings with Cowboys CEO and fellow competition committee member Stephen Jones, as Mike Klis of 9NEWS writes. “We’ve been here all week and his name never came up,’’ said Elway, who also gave further votes of confidence to Denver’s current top two QBs, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, per Klis. Even if the Cowboys end up releasing Romo, the expectation is Elway will still pass on the soon-to-be 37-year-old, notes Klis, who nonetheless cautions to “never say never.”
- Chargers owner Dean Spanos, who relocated his franchise earlier this year, has publicly thrown his support behind the AFC West rival Raiders’ goal to leave Oakland for Las Vegas. Spanos said Sunday that the Las Vegas Raiders would be a “great thing,” and that he’ll vote to make a Sin City franchise a reality Monday, tweets Troy Renck of Denver7. Patriots owner Robert Kraft also used the word “great” to describe the idea of the Raiders in Nevada, while the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones promised that Monday will be an “exciting day for Las Vegas” (Twitter links here). It’s becoming clear that Raiders owner Mark Davis will secure the necessary 23 approval votes from the league’s other 31 owners and leave Oakland behind.