Craig Rondinone analyzes the fantasy impact of quarterback (QB) Tony Romo retiring and moving to the broadcast booth for the 2017 football season.

Just when you think you have the NFL and fantasy football figured out, something happens that makes you realize that you can never truly know everything.

Tony Romo could have continued to play football and get paid handsomely as a starting NFL quarterback. There was no shortage of teams in need of his services. With an offseason where teams are trying at all costs not to have to sign Jay Cutler or Colin Kaepernick to lead their offenses, banks would have been robbed to give Romo the millions he wanted to stay in the NFL, plus the Dallas Cowboys would have been happier than Guy Fieri at a diner to have received a draft pick for an injury-prone veteran who was no longer in their future plans.

But Romo chose the broadcast booth over the football field, signing a deal with CBS to be their lead color commentator instead of risking another cracked collarbone. Now one of fantasy football’s favorite gunslingers will not be on the field to help QB-starved fantasy squads win their leagues – at least not right away. So what does this startling development mean for the fantasy football world? Here's my take:

Tony Romo's Impact on Fantasy Football 

Romo probably would have not been relied upon by fantasy owners to be a No. 1 QB on their squads, but he would have been a great No. 2 QB and could have had another 4,000-yard year with 25 touchdown passes if he stayed healthy and if he landed with the right team. Even at the age of 37, he would have had a better chance of being a top-15 fantasy QB than a bottom-15 fantasy QB.

Romo had a storied career, at least stats-wise for fantasy owners. The undrafted free agent quarterback went from pencil-pushing clipboard-holder to starting QB for America's team who threw for over 4,000 yards four different times with four seasons of 30-plus touchdown tosses. Between 2006-2014 he was frequently ranked among the top 10 in fantasy quarterbacks. Only in recent years did his fantasy value get piledriven thanks to a couple broken collarbones that forced him to miss large chunks of games and a back injury that eventually lost him his starting spot in Dallas to Dak Prescott.

Romo replacing his Cowboys jersey with a CBS blazer hurts some fantasy owners who possibly held onto to Romo in dynasty leagues because they believed he would be traded to or sign with the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans or New York Jets during the offseason and re-establish himself as a solid starting signal caller. But even those fantasy owners were not building their teams around Romo.

Fantasy owners would be wise to always have an eye on the NFL’s quarterback carousel and how well Romo is doing in the broadcast booth once the season starts. If a major injury knocks out a premier quarterback for the season, or if a playoff contender is struggling with an inexperienced, inaccurate quarterback that could cost them a postseason berth, do not be shocked if Romo pulls a Brett Favre and returns to save the day. If you have the roster room and can afford to take Romo in the last round of your draft and stash him in the hopes that he does return somehow, you could reap a reward.

How Will This Affect Other Players?

Well, Dak Prescott no longer has to look over his shoulder pads. The fantastic phenom does not have to worry about a four-interception game causing owner Jerry Jones to force head coach Jason Garrett into benching Prescott for Romo. The Cowboys offense is totally Prescott’s now and for the immediate future. This makes Prescott even more attractive to fantasy owners heading into the 2017 campaign.

Fantasy owners just have to hope Prescott will improve during the upcoming season and not take a step back because defenses will now have a book on him. It is going to be almost impossible for him to have a touchdown-to-interception ratio better than the 23-to-4 he posted this past season. Prescott does have room to improve when it comes to passing yards and touchdown passes, however.

While Dallas’ run-first offense does limit the damage he can do through the air, even if Prescott throws a little more often and a little more effectively he should be able to throw for 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2017. If Prescott adds another 289 yards and half-dozen scores via rushes like he did during his rookie year, then he would be on the verge of being a top-10 fantasy quarterback that people in keeper and dynasty leagues could build around.

Dez Bryant and his fantasy owners might not be giddy about Romo’s retirement, though. Bryant had an off-year with Prescott throwing to him instead of Romo. Bryant averaged 5.5 to 5.75 receptions per game between 2012-14 when Romo was the one throwing the passes to him. Bryant only caught 3.8 passes per game with young Prescott struggling to build chemistry with him last season, though. Bryant’s 7.4 targets per contest in 2016 were also his lowest average since 2011.

Prescott and Bryant should be better together in 2017 as Prescott gets more comfortable in the pocket and throwing to his star receiver, but I still think this will hurt Bryant’s fantasy value in the long run. He will have a handful of games where he dominates and has 120 yards and two touchdowns, but he will have more three-catch, 40-yard games than stars like Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones. Not to take away from Prescott, but he is simply not the prolific passer Eli, Big Ben, or Matt Ryan are. Plus, he is part of a run-heavy offensive system and they all are not. Bryant should be in the lower part of the first tier of WR as a result.

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