ORLANDO, Fla. -- Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said his staff will be off next week and will return to headquarters the Tuesday after the Super Bowl to begin preparations on the 2017 season.
That means no substantive talks have occurred yet about the future of quarterback Tony Romo.
"We haven't really spoken about any personnel since the end of the season," Garrett said Wednesday following Day 1 of Pro Bowl practice.
While Garrett would rather be coaching in the Super Bowl, there is something positive to take from this weekend in an all-star game featuring a horde of his own players. The late addition of Dez Bryant meant that seven players -- Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Sean Lee, were either invited or added as replacements.
Getting over a white-knuckle playoff loss to the Packers is a necessity. A work-related vacation to celebrate a 13-3 season doesn't hurt.
"That's what you have to do in this league, you really have to focus on what the task at hand is. We did a lot of good things in 2016, and a lot of things we can build on going into 2017," Garrett said. "We're excited for this opportunity. We're excited to get moving forward."
The courtship of Tony Romo via trade will be an unending and all-consuming offseason storyline, though NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport noted the possibility that Dallas holds onto their star quarterback to increase value, much like the Eagles did with Sam Bradford a year ago.
Garrett seemed grateful that any discussion on the subject wouldn't take place for at least a little while.
