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Jerry Jones is in no rush on Tony Romo situation, expects resolution 'before training camp'

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he’d “do right” by Tony Romo. However, he never said when he’d do right by his longtime quarterback.

At the NFL owners meetings, Jones didn’t seem to be in a rush to cut Romo so he could continue his career elsewhere. When asked if it was important to get resolution on the Romo situation, Jones laid out a surprising timetable.

“Before training camp,” Jones said, according to USA Today’s Tom Pelissero.

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Training camp starts in late July. That’s four months from now. It’s very, very hard to believe any team is going to wait around until late July for a chance to sign Romo. They need to get on with their offseason planning.

If Jones essentially sits on Romo until training camp, he might be effectively ending Romo’s playing career.

“We’re on great terms,” Jones said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “But I certainly don’t want to represent anything as to how he feels.

“But I feel good about how we’re doing, we being the Cowboys, me and Tony. I feel very good about it.”

It’s hard to believe Romo is OK with this. For weeks before free agency started there were multiple reports that Romo would be cut, including a very specific ESPN report the day before free agency began. Then the Cowboys apparently changed their minds and were trying to trade him.

The Houston Texans and Denver Broncos are the only teams that have been linked to Romo recently, and even the Broncos’ true level of interest is tough to gauge. Report after report has said neither team will trade for Romo – and it hasn’t happened in the nearly three weeks since the league year started, so that seems accurate. So Jones is holding this up for … what, exactly?

“We’re not missing doing anything,” Jones said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “From the standpoint of the franchise and the Cowboys, nothing is being held up here at all.”

Jones wouldn’t get into any specifics about what is happening in the process, so we’re all left to guess. The Cowboys could restructure his deal to facilitate a trade. Perhaps Jones doesn’t want Romo to play anywhere else and this is his way of making that happen. Or, as absolutely crazy as it sounds, maybe this is all being done to bring Romo and his $24.7 cap number back to Dallas to be the No. 2 quarterback behind Dak Prescott? That seems insane, but this whole ordeal is starting to seem insane.

Jones is carrying on like nothing is unusual, he indicates Romo is happy with the situation, and the Cowboys aren’t bothered at all by having nearly $25 million in cap space being used up by a backup quarterback as this all plays out. And maybe when it’s all done, we’ll understand Jones’ plan.

It just might take a few more months before we figure out what the end game is.

Tony Romo and Jerry Jones, in 2016. (AP)
Tony Romo and Jerry Jones, in 2016. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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