Kansas City Chiefs: What Tony Romo's Retirement Means
Tony Romo announced his retirement on Tuesday to enter the broadcast booth. Here is what it means for the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs were rumored to be one of the many teams interested in Romo since they suffered yet another playoff loss. The fans are running out of patience with Alex Smith and Romo had the stats to potentially make a big difference.
Then, Andy Reid, John Dorsey, and even Clark Hunt stated in some form that Alex Smith remained in the Chiefs' plans for the future. The Chiefs were not willing to trade for the aging quarterback and we'll never know what would have happened if he had received his release.
Smith would have received some strong trade consideration. Teams like the New York Jets, Buffalo, or Chicago would like to have a proven veteran at quarterback. This would allow the Chiefs to sign Romo and get about two years of play, barring injury.
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Now that Romo has decided to join the realm of broadcasting several teams are missing out. The Texans traded their starter for virtually nothing in return. The Chiefs never made such a rash move. Denver seems relatively satisfied with their two-man race of mediocrity, but would have surely made a push to sign Romo.
Broadcasting gives the quarterback the opportunity to stay close to the game. If a starter were to go down with a significant injury, Romo would be ready to step in. He just became every NFL team's insurance policy by retiring.
The Chiefs will not be upgrading at the quarterback position this offseason. That doesn't mean that Romo's retirement doesn't help them. The Houston Texans will be looking to Tom Savage to lead their team. He did not impress in his few games in 2016.
The Chiefs will likely travel to Houston early in the season as before. It could be a field day for the defense. Denver will also face a ferocious defense with unimpressive quarterbacks. Since they seem to have the numbers of Los Angeles and Oakland, the Chiefs are in a great position to grab the AFC West yet again.