Tony Romo's status for Sunday’s Chicago Bears-New Orleans Saints Wild Card playoff game is still questionable due to COVID protocols, but there may be a workaround for the analyst to still call the game for CBS without going to New Orleans.
According to New York Post media reporter Andrew Marchand, CBS and Romo may use the “Kirk Herbstreit model,” where Romo calls the game remotely from his Dallas home.
Herbstreit was unable to attend the College Football Playoff semifinal game between Ohio State and Clemson after testing positive for COVID-19, but he was still on the call from his home while Chris Fowler called the game from New Orleans.
CBS and Romo would ideally have the same setup, with Jim Nantz calling the game on site.
If Romo cannot travel to New Orleans, the other option is to have him be absent for the second consecutive week.
Boomer Esiason replaced Romo last week after the former Cowboys quarterback was removed from the Arizona Cardinals-Los Angeles Rams game after arriving in Los Angeles. It was not stated whether or not Romo tested positive for COVID-19 or if he had come into close contact with a known positive.
CBS will announce its coverage plans later in the week.
Romo called 15 games this year – with his only other game he missed coming the week Nantz was unavailable due to The Masters.
CBS is scheduled to broadcast the Super Bowl from Tampa Bay in February, which would be Romo and Nantz’s second Super Bowl together.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram