There are a lot of fallout questions from the news that an injury to his back will keep Tony Romo out for some time this season.
Among the long list of things racking my brain since the news officially dropped is a particular position battle on the Dallas Cowboys – Wide Receiver #2. If you haven’t yet then let me urge you to consider how deeply this spot is impacted by the change from Tony Romo to Dak Prescott.
Terrance Williams has been this team’s compliment to Dez Bryant ever since he was drafted in 2013. While T-Will has given us glimmers of a playmaker, his built up stock with Cowboys Nation wore out last season when he was unable to carry the team in the absence of Romo and Dez.
Perhaps his stock with the Coaching Staff wore out way before then as it was shortly after Dez Bryant went down with his injury last season when the Cowboys traded for Brice Butler. We should have known then that Brice was coming, and many of us have since caught wind of that essential inevitability.
The lone roadblock on Brice Butler’s way to Wide Receiver #2 domination seemed to be, and I mean no offense to our quarterback, Tony Romo. It’s no secret that Romo has a rapport with Terrance, but on the RJOShow Dolphins Postgame Episode my fellow Staff Writer Jess Haynie made another great point about the Romo factor at WR2.
As we were talking Cowboys/Dolphins, the deep bomb that Dak Prescott threw to Brice Butler came up. I mentioned how Brice’s athleticism would be the reason why he would eventually unseat Williams, but Jess pointed out that this exact thing might work to Butler’s demise in a Romo-led offense.
Calling a spade a spade here, Tony Romo doesn’t have the arm strength to deliver a ball 50+ yards downfield. That’s ok. He makes up for it in many, many, many other ways; however, Dak Prescott does have the arm strength to put a ball 150 feet away from him.
Since the collective world of the Dallas Cowboys will be led by Dak Prescott for the next 6-10 weeks, loyal RJOShow listener and Inside The Star reader @K1ng_0f_Harts reminded me of Jess and I’s conversation Saturday evening. Suddenly… Brice Butler’s athleticism and all the compliments that come with it are able to be fully utilized by someone with Dak Prescott’s arm strength.
I touched on this issue during the RJOShow Tony Romo Bonus Episode, but this is bigger than I think any of us realize. Romo’s injury is obviously ginormous for the future of this team because we’ll get to see what we have in Dak, but the Cowboys are only going to bring back one of Terrance Williams or Brice Butler. The next 6-10 weeks could go a long, long way in determining who that’s going to be when they hit the negotiating table next offseason.
Who do you think will flourish while Dak Prescott is the Cowboys Quarterback? Let us know! Comment below, Email me at RJ@RJOchoaShow.com, or Tweet to me at @RJOchoa!
