Cowboys Legend Romo: Almost Played QB For Home-State Packers?

The Green Bay Packers ignored one of their scouts when former Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo was brought up as a UDFA option.

FRISCO - The start to a successful NFL career can begin in many different ways. For some, they sit through the whole draft without ever hearing their name called. That was the case for Tony Romo, who signed with the Dallas Cowboys after going undrafted in 2003.

Many teams had the chance to sign Romo in undrafted free agency but ultimately passed up on the chance. 

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Former VP of the Packers Andrew Brandt recently shared some of his top NFL Draft stories. Among them was his undrafted free-agent story when one of the team's scouts identified Tony Romo but was ignored when he brought him up.

"Crickets.''

The 2003 NFL Draft featured a variety of different quarterbacks that Romo ended up outperforming. Carson Palmer went No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals while other names like Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, Dave Ragone, Chris Simms, and Seneca Wallace were drafted. 

It wasn't until the 2006 season that Romo even completed his first NFL pass, which was a 33-yard strike to Sam Hurd against the Houston Texans. He entered the season as Drew Bledsoe's backup but later earned the starting job.

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The Packers still had Brett Favre as their starting quarterback all the way through the 2007 season. 

Had Romo - a Wisconsin native - earned a roster spot in training camp and stayed in the mix, perhaps Green Bay would not have drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005? Who knows ... but it's fun to think about, nevertheless. 

Regardless, the Cowboys ended up receiving no shortage of production from Romo throughout his NFL career. The four-time Pro Bowler is the franchise leader in passing yards (34,183) and passing touchdowns (248) while completing 65.3% of his attempts. 

It's safe to say that Tony Romo, now CBS' lead analys, had one of the absolute best NFL careers of any undrafted free agent. The Dallas Cowboys surely are grateful they opted to take a chance on him. ... and right after this NFL Draft, they'll turn their attention to the UDFA pursuit for 2021.

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