Traina Thoughts Mailbag: Questions Surround Tony Romo After Being Placed on Leave

It’s time for another Traina Thoughts mailbag. Thanks, as always, for the questions.

Thanks for pronouncing my last name correctly on the pod!! What’s your thoughts on if Romo will be suspended or fired or just CBS pretends like nothing happened?
— Jeffrey Dougherty (@jdoughboy44) July 31, 2026

Do you see CBS using the romo arrest as an excuse to get Watt to the 1 crew?
— Suffering JIM (@JIMfan523) July 30, 2026

As soon as this column was about to be published, CBS Sports released a statement about Romo.

JJ Watt will join Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as CBS Sports' lead NFL team while Tony Romo is on leave.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) July 31, 2026

The release is very specific in saying Romo is on leave. That means hasn’t been fired and he’s still with the company.

What’s surprising to me here is CBS announcing that J.J. Watt will join Jim Nantz in the network’s lead NFL booth. That would mean Romo is expected to miss some games. CBS’s first game of the season isn’t until Sept. 13.

Clearly, CBS isn’t pretending nothing happened and isn’t trying to make the Romo arrest story go away. Again, though, based on the statement, it would appear Romo will be back at some point in the regular season.

A couple of things to keep in mind. While Romo draws a lot of criticism on social media, CBS seems happy with his work.

A lot of people floated the theory that Romo’s arrest could give CBS a way to get out of paying him $17 million a year. Here’s the reality: $17 million is a lot of money, but it’s not outrageously high for a lead NFL analyst. If CBS put Watt in that role, he’d eventually end up making close to that salary. In addition, CBS pays the NFL $2.1 BILLION a year for broadcast rights. Romo’s $17 million is not that big of a deal to the company’s bottom line.

Why in the NFL is there an embarrassment of riches when it comes to color analyst? But in all other sports, it seems hard to get anyone beyond fine? I mean the fifth best color guy in the NFL is way better than top national color guy on MLB!
— Maclean Sarr (@SarrMaclean) July 30, 2026

This is a great question because it’s based in reality. I think it’s hard for NBA and NHL analysts to stand out because those are sports for the play-by-play person to shine. There is constant action and it’s all fast. There just isn’t enough time to for an analyst to impact a broadcast.

Baseball is an interesting one because that’s the sport with the most downtime, although that has changed significantly thanks to the pitch clock.

The problem with baseball when it comes to an analyst standing out is that the sport is so localized. Fans listen to their local analysts for about 140 to 150 games a year. The only time national analysts are a factor is during the postseason. And that’s when fans want their local guys the most.

Meanwhile, NBC, which got back in the MLB business this season, doesn’t even have a national analyst. It uses random analysts every week alongside play-by-play man Jason Benetti.

The NFL isn’t a local sport. It’s a national sport. Romo, Tom Brady, Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman, to name a few, are with us every single week from September through January. That familiarity is important. Football is also the sport that needs an analyst to tell viewers what’s happening more than any other sport. From defensive coverage, to a quarterback calling an audible, to play calling, to substitutions, there’s just a ton for an NFL analyst to dig into.

With the watering down of the number of games on Sunday Ticket, at what point will you be out?
— Jim Costello (@MistUncle) July 30, 2026

I have repeatedly pointed out that the NFL has watered down the weekly 1 p.m. ET slate on Sundays by creating so many stand-alone windows.

However, as long as the NFL’s television rules force the New York market (where I live) to air the Jets and Giants, I can’t see myself ever dropping Sunday Ticket. If I’m fortunate enough to afford Sunday Ticket, I will have it because I just can’t imagine sitting in my house on a Sunday afternoon watching one of the most embarrassing franchises in the history of sports in the Jets while Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and others are playing at the same time. I want to watch the best teams, best matchups and best players every week.

Where does the last or back button on the TV remote 7rank in the greatest inventions list? Definitely ahead of the microwave oven but probably behind the airplane.
— DrNachoMD (@DrNachoMD) July 31, 2026

The “back” button or “last channel” button is without a doubt one of the most underrated inventions of all time. We really don’t talk enough about the importance of the “back” button. I think the “back” button might have lost a little of its luster because most people use a second or even third screen these days.

In the era before streaming, a true sports fan simply couldn’t live without the “back” button. If we’re talking about just the world of sports viewing, I’d have the “back” button a top-five invention.

Is WWE right now at its lowest point in the post-Vince era?
— TJ (@TJRamsey44) July 30, 2026

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. The saga of Cody Rhodes finishing his story was the best and worst thing to happen to WWE. It was the best because it gave the company a red-hot storyline for two to three years and culminated in what might be the best WrestleMania ending of all time.

It was the worst thing to happen to the company because that storyline couldn’t be topped or replicated. Rhodes had to leave the company for several years for that story to work the way it did.

It also didn’t help WWE that John Cena’s final year as an active wrestler was a total dud with the horrible heel turn.

The WWE has one creative hole in the pocket: Cody’s heel turn. That will generate buzz. Whether the creative behind it is good or bad remains to be seen.

Instagram questions:

Can MLB survive an entire season work stoppage? – @rosswebermaine

Everyone will tell you no. The answer is yes. There are no bigger suckers in the world than sports fan. We get treated like crap by every league, team and network and we never go away. Baseball fans will rant and rave that they will never watch the sport or go to a game.

Then baseball will come back and everyone will watch and go to the games. Just like they’ve come back after every other strike and lockout across all sports. That’s what sports fans do.

What would you say is the LeBron James of candy bars? Reliable, productive, legendary. – @itsameandyp

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. It always hits right. It’s consistently great, like LeBron. Sometimes you take its greatness for granted, like LeBron. There is a perfect balance between peanut butter and chocolate, like LeBron’s game is perfectly balanced with scoring, passing and rebounding.

Would you rather Brian Cashman gets fired or a private Billy Joel concert? – @noahbenjamn

Goodbye, Cashman. I wouldn’t want a private Billy Joel concert. It would be awkward. Plus, a big part of what makes a concert fun is a good crowd. And I’ve seen Joel a bunch of times already. Cashman has been here for about a billion years and has won one World Series. It’s time to go. It’s enough.

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