Jerry Jones is now leading the charge for silencing talks about Tony Romo.
Speaking to reporters while attending Senior Bowl practice in Mobile, Alabama, on Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys owner shut down discussions about his high-priced backup quarterback.
"I'm not going to get into that at all -- whether we've talked or not," Jerry Jones said of Romo, via the Dallas Morning News. "We're at a juncture now that we need to just cool it in our public conversations about what we're going to be doing or not doing there with Tony."
The about-face from the garrulous owner -- who in the past has admitted to saying things just for headlines -- comes as a minor surprise, but makes sense for the Cowboys' organization. Speaking about the Romo situation helps neither the team nor the quarterback.
At some point during the next month, Romo either will be traded, released or he'll retire. Whether traded or cut, the veteran quarterback will cost the Cowboys $19.6 million in salary-cap space -- the team would save $5.1 million if he's not on the team in 2017.
Romo proved he can still play if healthy (that's a colossal if at this point). With the dearth of quality quarterbacks on the market, someone will roll the dice and pay Romo -- either trading for that right or waiting for Dallas to release him.
There will be plenty of chatter about the quarterback's future once the Super Bowl is over. For now, the owner won't be participating -- for now.