AROUND THE NFL Wednesday’s news & notes

Cowboys scheduled to release Tony Romo today

dallas

Tony Romo’s star-crossed career as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys will soon be over.

A person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press that the Cowboys will release Romo when the NFL year opens on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced a decision on Romo, who will get a chance to pursue a starting job elsewhere.

Romo will leave the Cowboys as the franchise leader in yards passing (34,183) and touchdowns (248). But he could never match the postseason success of Hall of Famers and multiple Super Bowl winners Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

A 10-year starter who joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003, Romo lost the job last season to rookie Dak Prescott after breaking a bone in his back in a preseason game.

When he was healthy again, Romo conceded the job to Prescott during a franchise-record 11-game winning streak. His departure has been expected ever since.

A trade was unlikely because Romo turns 37 next month, carries a $24 million salary cap hit and has missed most of the past two seasons with injuries. But he should be attractive as a free agent to contenders wanting a quarterback, a list that could include Denver and Houston.

A release will free about $5 million in cap space for the Cowboys, who can split the dead money from a $19 million hit over two seasons.

49ers sign Brian Hoyer to two-year contract

santa clara, calif.

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly adding a quarterback to the roster, agreeing to a two-year deal with free-agent Brian Hoyer.

The NFL Network said Wednesday that Hoyer has decided to join the Niners where he will have a chance to compete to be the starter next season. The deal can’t be announced until the start of the new league year Thursday.

San Francisco entered its first free-agency period under new coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch with no quarterbacks on the roster after last year’s starter Colin Kaepernick opted out of his deal last week. Backups Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder and Thad Lewis are also free agents.

Shanahan will begin his tenure with a familiar quarterback. Hoyer made 13 starts for Cleveland in 2014 when Shanahan was offensive coordinator. Hoyer won seven of those starts and threw for a career-high 3,326 yards that season.

The 31-year-old Hoyer began his career as a backup to Tom Brady for three seasons in New England. He then made his first career start the following season for Arizona, spent two years with the Browns and then one each with Houston and Chicago, where he started five games last season.

WR Brandon Marshall signed by Giants to two-year deal

east rutherford, n.j.

Eli Manning and the New York Giants now have two legitimate threats on the outside.

The Giants found a complement to Odell Beckham Jr. on Wednesday by signing veteran free-agent receiver Brandon Marshall to a two-year, $12 million contact.

Marshall said the Giants’ offer might have been the lowest that he got after being released by the Jets last week.

However, Ben McAdoo’s team, which made the playoffs with an 11-5 record last season, offered him something else.

“It was all about championships,” said Marshall, who has never made the playoffs since being drafted in the first round by Denver in 2006. “To get straight to the point — it was all about a championship, they presented the best opportunity to be in a championship organization.”

Marshall offers the Giants a lot. He is a big target at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, and he has been productive. In 167 regular-season games with Denver, Miami, Chicago and the Jets, he has caught 941 passes for 12,061 yards and 82 touchdowns.

Buffalo sticks with Tyrod Taylor after reworking contract

orchard park, n.y.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is staying put in Buffalo.

The Bills ended two months of uncertainty on Wednesday by announcing Taylor would remain in Buffalo for a third season after agreeing to restructure his five-year contract extension. The deal was reached a day before the NFL’s free-agency period opens, and with Buffalo facing a deadline on Saturday on whether to activate or opt out of the extension Taylor signed in August.

The move cleared the biggest offseason question for the Bills, who are undergoing their latest transformation under newly hired coach Sean McDermott , who took over in January after Rex Ryan was fired.

Saying the team took a methodical approach in exploring all options, McDermott credited Taylor for making the decision an easy one because of his desire to stay in Buffalo.

“This thing shaped up the right way and really, I feel this is a good move and in the best interest of the organization at this time,” McDermott said. “All these conversations about this and that, and which direction we’re going? Well, this is where we are.”

In establishing a rapport with Taylor the past two months, McDermott said he was impressed by the quarterback’s character and work ethic.

Associated Press