CBS Sports places Tony Romo on leave after OWI incident, replaces him with former NFL All-Pro defender J.J. Watt
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was arrested last week for allegedly operating while intoxicated. When could he return to the broadcast booth?
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s short-term future as a broadcaster just got blurry. In the aftermath of his arrest for allegedly operating while intoxicated (OWI), CBS is placing Romo on leave.
In a statement released on Friday morning, CBS announced “Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice.”
According to the statement, Houston Texans legend J.J. Watt will take his place, joining play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.
“Romo was stopped (July 23) around 8 p.m. while traveling southbound on Interstate 43 and performed poorly on standard field sobriety tests,” ABC’s WISN report indicated on Romo’s arrest last week. “He was taken into custody for OWI book and released.”
Since then, police footage has been released of Romo undergoing field sobriety tests and seemingly failing them.
When will Romo be back in the broadcast booth?
The short answer is we don’t know. Romo is on leave indefinitely but a defining date could be Sept. 21, which is the former quarterback’s court date.
The season will already be underway by then, with CBS scheduled to broadcast the Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 as a featured game.
CBS’ decision has led to speculation about Romo’s future with the network. But things are still very unclear, as a Daily Mail report indicates.
“I don’t want to act like it’s not a big deal, because it is,” a CBS exec said via the report. “But it’s not going to get him fired.”
2026 Cowboys games currently scheduled on CBS
Though things can change with the NFL’s flexible schedule, there are currently two Cowboys games scheduled as CBS feature games (4:25 p.m. ET):
- Week 3: Ravens at Cowboys (Rio de Janeiro), Sept. 27
- Week 15: Cowboys at Rams, Dec. 20
Following a 13-year career in the NFL that yielded four Pro Bowls, Romo retired in 2017 before diving into broadcasting. He rapidly emerged as one of the best analysts in the NFL for CBS and signed a 10-year, $180 million deal with the network.