How Tony Romo's Retirement Affects The Arizona Cardinals

In what was a bit of shocking news, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo decided to call it quits on Tuesday, hanging up his cleats in favor of a CBS microphone. Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported that Romo has decided to retire from the NFL and will take over Phil Simms' color analyst duties and work alongside Jim Nantz at CBS.

So while the Arizona Cardinals didn't have any interest in bringing Romo on should he have decided to stay playing football and be cut by the Cowboys, it still has an affect on the Cards from a distant standpoint.

Some of the teams that were lining up to inquire about Romo's services included the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and possibly the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Now that Romo isn't going to any of them, some of those teams will continue on with business as usual, but others, such as the Texans, may be in more of a panic to find a quarterback right away. The next best option to do that comes in three weeks with the NFL Draft.

If the Cardinals were hoping to grab one of the top 3 or 4 quarterbacks with their second round pick, that plan may have just been foiled.

It is extremely conceivable to see the Texans draft a QB with their first round pick at 25th overall, or even trade up in the draft to do so. The same goes for the Broncos, who seem to not have tons of faith in their former first rounder, Paxton Lynch.

Quarterbacks already get drafted higher than they should because the need for a good one in the NFL is so great. Teams can rarely afford to wait until they see one in a draft that they like and can take them in a reasonable round of that draft.

So if the Cardinals were hoping to get someone like Deshone Kizer, DeShaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes II with their 45th overall pick, they may have to rethink that idea. This may not be the best QB class we have ever seen, but there is no doubt in my mind that that fact will not keep each of these young men from being a hot commodity.