Tony Romo trade watch: Chiefs, Texans in lead – Broncos may be out

The Broncos are at least saying that they’re cool with riding things out with Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch in 2017. Plus, with having spent so much of their cash on the defensive side of the ball the past few years, getting Tony Romo to fit under the salary cap would be difficult.

“I’m happy with the two guys we have,” new Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy told the Star-Telegram. “And that’s the focus right now is getting the two quarterbacks we have on our roster ready to play.”

So now, in early February, the leaders in the clubhouse to land Tony Romo in a trade are Houston and Kansas City.

About the Texans

Adam Schefter was a guest on Dallas News’ “Sports Day” this week and ESPN’s ace football reporter talked about where the best fit for Romo is.

“It would be a winning organization that can protect him with an offensive line and has a chance to be competitive,” Schefter said. “Denver’s got questions about its offensive line. I think Houston’s got some questions. I think Houston would probably be the best fit to me. Especially on offense.”

There are many obstacles when it comes to Romo to Houston, however. The first regards Brock Osweiler’s contract.

“The problem is that’s definitely sitting there and there’s a guarantee of $16 million this season so to have to find a way to get around that,” Schefter said. “I think that’s a problem with any quarterback they pursue which is why they’d probably like to draft a quarterback. I don’t think that diminishes their interest in Tony Romo [though].”

It also remains unclear if Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would want to trade one of his all-time great players to Houston. The Texans are still very much the Cowboys’ baby brother in the state of Texas, but if Romo were to lead Houston to glory – it would in no way be a good look for Jones and Dallas.

About the Chiefs

Romo’s most likely landing spot remains Kansas City. The Chiefs have all the pieces in place to contend for an AFC title, except the most important piece. Alex Smith had a porous 69.7 passer rating in the Chiefs’ 18-16 divisional round loss to Pittsburgh this past season and he was decidedly average against the Patriots in the playoffs in the 2015 season – owning a 77.6 passer rating in that divisional loss.

Not surprisingly, Chiefs brass if ready to move on from “Average Alex.”

“It was noteworthy when Andy Reid was non-committal to Alex Smith,” NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport said last week. “They’ve made a QB trade in the past, doing so for Alex Smith. They’d have to be considered someone who would be a possibility.”