While this may seem like a stupid question at first, Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo and RB Felix Jones are potentially the most important pieces of the offense this season.
Jerry Jones loves Romo enough to request special permission to attend his wedding during the lockout and the team just cut Marion Barber to make Jones the unquestioned starter at running back.
That last point is what draws this question into my mind, however.
Just a few short years ago, Barber was the crowd favorite that barreled over and through defenders on his way to the starting role. He signed a big contract, his production slipped, the Cowboys had a rough season, and he was sent on his way.
The Cowboys coaching staff seems to be pushing Tashard Choice to perform well, and they also drafting a promising back in DeMarco Murray in the third round of this year’s draft. Running backs since Emmitt Smith have had a short lifespan on the Cowboy’s roster, and if Jones doesn’t live up to his goal of being the best back in the NFL , he could be gone by this time next year, especially if Choice steps up and Murray impresses.
Romo’s status is another animal. Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett love him. He has put up big numbers, but is always left out of the elite class of quarterbacks that he seemed to have the potential to join when he signed his massive contract. The Cowboys had to make a lot of cuts quickly to get under the cap this year, and they have $20 million in dead money next year already. If the Cowboys are facing cap issues again, Romo could be in trouble, due to make $9 million in 2012 and $11.5 million in 2013.
This doesn’t mean they would go back to John Kitna , who performed fairly well last season but is 39 years old. Stephen McGee would be next in line. The Cowboys have been high on him and while his numbers aren’t always that great in the limited action he sees, he seems to perform in crunch time, which has been the knock on Romo. Jerry Jones has put together an offense loaded with weapons that he believes should win no matter who is at quarterback.
Also interesting to note is that Cowboys fans as a whole do not seem to approve of Romo. He will never be Troy Aikman or Roger Staubach, but when he burst onto the scene he was anointed by Jones as the quarterback that would get them to the Promised Land, the Super Bowl . If he doesn’t live up to that, perhaps even by the end of this season, he could be a cap casualty while Jones tries to find someone who can.