Woodson’s Career Comes Full Circle, Romo Undergoes Surgery

After publicly discussing his challenges to find a new team, former Green Bay Packers defensive back Charles Woodson has landed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders–the team who gave him his first chance in the league.

In March, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo received a hefty six-year, $108 million deal and recently, he underwent surgery for a back cyst. He is expected to be ready for the team’s training camp.

Woodson Returns to the Raiders

Woodson is possibly concluding his NFL career with the team who drafted him to begin his NFL career.

On Tuesday, the veteran player signed a one-year deal with the Raiders that encompasses a $1 million base salary and a $700,000 signing that has a potential end value of $4.3 million, reported NFL.com.

The move came quickly as Woodson had just visited the team on Tuesday but they were familiar with him as he was a standout in his eight seasons with the team beginning in 1998. He had been selected as Pro Bowler in his first four seasons in the league and in 2006, the Packers picked him up in free agency.

In his seven seasons with Green Bay, he was a member of the team that won the Super Bowl after its 2010 season. He also had four Pro Bowl selections with them.

From his career to-date, Woodson, 36, has 55 interceptions and in 2009, he was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Overshadowed by his successful NFL career, Woodson won the 1997 Heisman Trophy while playing at the University of Michigan. He defeated Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning by 272 total points and Randy Moss by 1,562, according to Heisman.com.

Green Bay released the veteran in Feburary and at the time, Woodson expressed interest in playing for a contending team. He did not have a lot of suitors in the interim but most recently, the Broncos had been one and they had offered him a contract.

While qualifying as a contender (Broncos have 15 to 2 odds to win the 2014 Super Bowl), instead Woodson joined a team and fans that really wanted him back.

For the Raiders, they sit at 100 to 1 to win the 2014 Super Bowl.

Romo Undergoes Back Surgery 

Tony Romo

Cowboys quarterback recently underwent surgery for a cyst on his back and now he will miss the team’s OTAs. He will be out for three weeks but is expected join the team for its upcoming July training camp.

The procedure has been considered minor and Romo said on Monday via The Dallas Morning News, “If this was the regular season and I had to play next week, I could. This is just about being smart. That’s why I did it now. This will have no effect on training camp. No way will it have an impact. And I still think there’s a good chance I’m on the field for mini-camp.”

Early in the offseason–and now more so than ever–after signing his Texas-size contract that made him the highest paid player in the team’s history in March, Romo enters this season with high expectations to perform. Team owner/general manger Jerry Jones has repeatedly said he wants the quarterback to have greater involvement to mold the offense. He also expects Romo to have a presence “beyond the norm’’ and is seeking a “Peyton Manning-type time on the job’’ thanks to the $40 million Romo has been guaranteed.

No pressure here after Romo is coming off an 8-8 season and another year missing the playoffs. Romo knows the pressure is on and said on Tuesday to ESPN, “We’re going to do everything we can as coaches, players and in this building to change that. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

For this year, the Cowboys sit at 28 to 1 to win the 2014 Super Bowl.