Tony Romo is retired, with one caveat:
If the Dallas Cowboys ever need him in an emergency, he'll fly out of the television booth, suit up and play savior for Big D.
That's the word from NFL Network's Jane Slater, in the wake of Romo's retirement.
"In his head right now, he has not ruled out coming back to Dallas if in fact they ever needed him, because, God forbid, there was an injury, that he could see himself in a savior role for the Cowboys," Slater said Tuesday on NFL Network's Good Morning Football.
This boils down to simply: If Dak Prescott suffers a catastrophic, Teddy Bridgewater-esque injury, Romo could unretire to try and save the day. We presume such an injury would have to occur early in the season -- it seems unlikely a 36-year-old veteran could kick off the rust in December after months' worth of TV duty.
(Poor Kellen Moore. Always a bridesmaid, never the maid of honor.)
While the news of Romo potentially waffling on retirement could come as a beacon of hope to QB-needy teams like the Houston Texans or any other squad that suffers a quarterback injury, don't hold your breath.
According to Slater, it's the Cowboys or nothing.
"I don't think, talking to the people I've talked to, that he could ever fully commit to another team, at his age, at this juncture of his life. He just really just saw himself as sort of a Cowboy for life," she said.
Slater added that Romo's growing family (his wife is set to give birth to another child this summer) and injury history are reasons he decided not to chase opportunities outside of Dallas.
It's important to note that Slater specifically said it would take injury to Prescott to get Romo back under center.
Even with that disclaimer, if Dak struggles out of the gate in Year 2, plenty of television time and internet ink will be used pondering a Romo return. Buckle up.