As you would have expected, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett have both shared thoughts on the retirement of quarterback Tony Romo. Neither shied away from expressing their deep appreciation for one of the biggest names in franchise history.
Here was Jerry Jones' statement, as shared to Twitter by David Moore of the Dallas Morning News and multiple other sources:
“We wish Tony and his family nothing but the best. As an organization, we did what he asked us to do in terms of his release, and we wanted to do what was ultimately in his best interest and in the best interest of his family.
“Tony has been a wonderful representative of the Cowboys organization for 14 years, and he left everything he had on the field. He will leave us with many great memories and a legacy of being, truly, one of the greatest players in Cowboys history. We are thrilled for him and his family that he will be able to continue working as a professional in the game he so dearly loves.
“He is a young man who is just getting started on a long journey in life. All the best my friend.”
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this is the statement that how things were handled was per Tony Romo's request. It's in keeping with what many of us believed during this entire situation, that Jerry Jones would never do anything to hurt or offend Romo. Jerry's notorious fondness for his players has never been stronger than how he feels about Tony.
While we don't know how much Romo's relationship with Jason Garret was affected by the change at quarterback, that did not stop Jason from saying the following:
“Tony Romo has a unique combination of athletic ability, arm talent, vision, and instincts for the game. What separates Tony from many other players, however, is a rare competitive spirit. Tony loves to play. Tony loves to compete. The best ones always do. In practice. during games. On the field. Off the field. Tony competes to the end in everything that he does.
“That relentless spirit that Tony plays with is contagious. He makes his teammates better. He makes his coaches better. He makes his team better. He has grown so much as a player and as a person over the course of his career and has made a significant impact on the lives of so many. I consider myself fortunate to be at the top of that list. It has been one of the great privileges of my life to work with Tony Romo, one of the greatest players in Dallas Cowboys history.”
Clearly, Jason's respect for Tony has never wavered. If there is any rift between Romo and Garrett, we can only hope that time will heal it and their friendship will endure.
Be sure that Inside The Star will remain on top of the ongoing reactions and news stemming from Tony Romo's retirement. Stay tuned!
