When Tony Romo inked his six-year, $108 million extension with the Dallas Cowboys last month, the contract included $55 million in guarantees from the Cowboys -- and a guarantee from the quarterback that he'd put in more hours.
As part of the heady contract, owner Jerry Jones received an assurance from Romo that he'd spend "Peyton Manning-type time" at the team facility, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reported Saturday.
Jones didn't suggest that Romo previously had dodged his responsibilities, but the owner wants his quarterback knee-deep in game-planning this season. The Cowboys have yet to name an offensive play-caller for 2013, but whoever assumes those duties will work alongside Romo to craft an attack that caters to his strengths.
"Tony is more involved in the finished product," Jones said Saturday after his post-draft news conference. "He is more involved, unequivocally. I'm counting that in. That ought to produce some success. It will produce some success. I'm talking about the kind of plays we run, a lot of what we do offensively."
ESPN reported that Romo will have his stamp on "every play in each game plan" after working with coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Bill Callahan.
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Romo occasionally has been criticized for not being an obsessive, all-in signal-caller in the mold of Manning or New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, but Jones appears determined to pull those qualities to the surface.
"Tony is going to have more time, more presence," Jones said. "Not only ... in the offseason but when the season starts, beginning Mondays, assuming we played Sundays, he's going to have more time on the job. A part of what we agreed with, was extra time on the job, beyond the norm. That doesn't mean that he didn't have a lot of time on the job, but extra time on the job, Peyton Manning-type time on the job."
Jones -- a fellow with no edit button -- would have done well to keep these orders in-house. What he's asking from Romo is reasonable, but trumpeting his request publicly does little to help the uneven public perception surrounding one of the NFL's most embattled passers.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
