Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and CBS Sports have mutually parted ways, according to a statement the network released Friday. The decision comes roughly two months after Romo was arrested on operating while intoxicated charges in Milwaukee.

CBS placed Romo on leave at the time. Since then, Houston Texans legend J.J. Watt has served as the analyst on the network’s top broadcast crew alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz.

In its statement, CBS called the split a mutual decision, thanked Romo for his contributions over the past nine years, and wished him the best.

Romo’s statement and what comes next

Last month, Romo released a statement saying he completely owned his operating while intoxicated offense in Wisconsin. He also opened up about what led him there.

Romo said in the statement: “Multiple back surgeries ended my career earlier than I expected and left me with constant debilitating pain. That pain led to dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an overreliance on alcohol.”

He added that it was not an excuse and that he took responsibility for his mistakes.

CBS signed Romo to a historic 10-year, $180 million contract in 2020. Now they’re moving on, which will lead to the former Cowboys quarterback taking a break, a fist in his career. 

So what’s next for him? Time will tell. However, one scenario is already generating speculation, and it involves another Cowboys franchise icon: Troy Aikman.

Could ESPN look at Romo if Aikman isn’t extended?

In case you missed it, Aikman is entering the final year of a five-year contract with ESPN. He and Joe Buck have been longtime partners since their days calling games at Fox, and they arrived at ESPN together.

Here’s the thing: Buck signed a six-year contract extension that keeps him with ESPN through 2032. Aikman, on the other hand, has expressed some discontent with his situation. He said he expected ESPN to extend him before the 2026 NFL season, the same way the network extended Buck.

To be fair, Aikman said in an interview that he isn’t worrying too much about it. Still, it’s a storyline worth monitoring.

Say ESPN decides it doesn’t want to extend Aikman (I don’t know why they would do that but those are the questions that come with a contract year). One has to wonder if the network would turn to another former Dallas quarterback.

I’m not going to lie to you, it would feel weird to hear Buck without Aikman in the booth. They’ve been calling games together since 2002. And yet, Romo has proven he can do the job at one of the major networks.

When Romo first started out, he became a main attraction of the games he called. His habit of trying to predict what would happen before it actually happened turned his broadcasts into appointment viewing.

Over the years, he toned that style down. Some have speculated that was the network’s doing, though it’s never been confirmed. That raises a fair question. Could a fresh start somewhere else bring back the style that made Romo so popular in his early days as a broadcaster?

For now, Romo is taking a break and the priority remains working on himself after his self-admitted mistake. As for CBS, it’s the Watt era.