All eyes and ears were on Tuesday’s CBS NFL season preview press conference, given the current status of the network’s top analyst, Tony Romo.
At the outset of the session, CBS Sports president David Berson addressed the pink elephant in the room.
“I know there’s one topic that’s been in the news a lot lately,” Berson said, via Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing. “I know it’s on people’s minds here, so I’m gonna hit that right out of the gate, and that has to do with Tony Romo being on leave until further notice. I hope you can respect and appreciate that this is a personal matter and a legal one for Tony, so I can’t speak to that aspect of things. What I can say is it’s an evolving situation, and therefore we’re still assessing.
“There’s no timetable or final decision at this time. Since it continues to evolve and we’re on the eve of the season, I felt it’s very important that our team, the many, many hundreds of people who work on the NFL on CBS, have certainty and direction so we can definitively plan and focus on the production and marketing as we kick off the season. In making this decision, we had to consider the impact on our image and on our brand. That’s very important to us. Whether the games, marketing, P.R., social, the focus should be and needs to be on our presentation and this great product and not on any other factors.
“Fortunately, we have a very deep bench, and I’m really proud of the way everyone’s stepping up and responding. As you know, J.J. [Watt] will join Jim [Nantz] and Tracy [Wolfson] as our lead team in Tony’s absence. They’re already knee-deep in planning, and I have every confidence they’ll be great.”
The full context of Berson’s comments hints that it will be a full-season assignment for Watt. Which, if so, means it will be a full-season absence for Romo.
Indeed, nothing Berson said changes the perception that Romo’s days at CBS are numbered, and that he possibly if not probably if not likely won’t be back on the air with his current employer.
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