New Orleans Saints Were Coveting Tony Romo But Were Unable To Trade For Him

Published on March 9th, 2024 11:23 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Drew Brees is undoubtedly one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever lived.

After all, he finished his career with over 80,000 throwing yards and 571 passing touchdowns.

Brees really started to blossom in 2006, which is when he joined the New Orleans Saints. In 2006, Brees would put together the greatest season of his career to that point, throwing for 4,418 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Brees would finish as the MVP runner-up 4 times over the course of his career, while also leading the Saints to a Super Bowl championship at Super Bowl XLIV.

Here's the thing - Drew Brees was actually the Saints' back-up plan.

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Tony Romo was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2003 after going undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Romo would see most of his action in his first 2-3 years in the league as the Cowboys' holder for placekicks, as the team brought in a constant rotation of new quarterbacks.

During the 2004 and 2005 seasons, Romo would compile zero quarterback stats.

In the 2006 offseason, the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Peyton, had his eye on a quarterback that he thought could lead the Saints to better days.

That quarterback was Tony Romo.

The Saints made the Cowboys an offer - Romo for a third-round pick.

The Cowboys countered with Romo for a second-round pick, and held tight in their asking price.

The Saints thought that was too expensive for an undrafted quarterback with zero playing experience, so they pivoted to Drew Brees. The Saints would end up signing Brees to a six-year, $60 million deal, and the rest is history.

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In the end, both the Cowboys and Saints ended up looking smart.

Brees, of course, went on to have a Hall of Fame career, while Romo ended up starting 10 games in 2006, putting up an impressive 2,903 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. Romo would remain the starter of the Cowboys for nearly a decade, putting up 34,183 passing yards and 248 touchdowns during his time with the team.

Kudos to Sean Peyton for recognizing the talent in Tony Romo, kudos to Sean Peyton and the Saints for pivoting to Drew Brees, and kudos to the Cowboys for electing to keep a future star in Tony Romo.