Tony Romo’s bodycam footage is making the rounds for one reason above all: before taking a sobriety test, he warmed up on the hood of a police cruiser.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was stopped in Milwaukee on July 23 after deputies said he was driving southbound on Interstate 43 near downtown and made an unsafe pass. According to the report, officers noticed red, glassy eyes and said they smelled alcohol on his breath.
Romo told them he had come from a golf course and said he was on his way to meet his grandparents. When asked how much he had had to drink, he said “zero.”
Once deputies moved him to a level area, Romo asked for a little time to get ready. “Can I do an exercise?”
he said. He explained that the drive had aggravated old back injuries, then leaned against the front of a police vehicle and stretched for about 20 seconds before the testing began.
One officer let him go ahead. “Go ahead, dude,” the deputy said.
From there, the stop went on for more than 12 minutes of standardized field sobriety tests, and the footage shows Romo struggling to keep up with repeated instructions. He interrupted often, had trouble following directions, took off his sandals during one part, and kept reaching for his lower back and bending over again.
He also brought up his back surgeries several times. When officers asked about head injuries, Romo answered, “Over the years, yes, but not recently,” while smiling.
The official report says he performed poorly overall. Deputies noted that he could not maintain his balance, stopped walking, missed heel-to-toe steps and made an improper turn. When they offered a preliminary breath test, he refused.
“Oh no. We’re not doing that,” Romo said.
“I’ve heard from multiple lawyers, ‘Don’t ever do that.’ So, we’re not going to do that.”
Afterward, he asked whether he had passed. Officers told him he was under arrest, then placed him back in handcuffs and booked him on suspicion of operating while intoxicated.
In Wisconsin, a first-offense OWI is treated as a civil traffic matter. Romo also received a citation for refusing the chemical test, and his court date is set for September 21.
The footage shows more friction earlier in the stop as well. Romo wanted to call his lawyer and recorded the encounter on his phone.
“Because I’m coming from a golf course, you think I’m drunk?” he asked.
Deputies also found small alcohol containers in his bag, and when Romo asked whether anyone had drunk them, the officer did not respond and kept moving through the process.
Romo was released the same night and remains free while the case moves toward court later this year. CBS has kept him in his analyst role for now, even as questions continue around the incident. According to NBC DFW reporting, the deputy documented multiple signs of possible impairment throughout the stop.
In Other News...
Panthers Just Made A Telling Move In Their Thin Receiver Room
Carolina added another body to a receiver group that has been thinned out in training camp, signing Casey Washington and bringing the former Falcons wideout onto the 90-man roster. Washington arrives after two seasons in Atlanta, where he got into 15 games and caught seven passes for 108 yards, and now gets a fresh chance in a room that needs players who can stay on the field and keep reps moving.
The move came with a corresponding roster shuffle as Dan Chisena was placed on injured reserve, underscoring how quickly the depth chart can change this time of year. Washington also lands in a familiar corner of the NFC South after his release earlier this offseason, and for the Panthers the immediate question is less about pedigree than whether he can carve out a role before the roster gets even tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Fans Had Every Reason To Fear This Mitchell Evans Update
Training camp has already delivered one brutal reminder of how quickly a roster can change, with EDGE Nic Scourton going down with a torn ACL and getting carted off the field. So when Mitchell Evans was helped off after his own injury, it was easy to understand why Panthers fans braced for another worst-case update, especially with the tight end group still trying to establish itself as a real strength.
Instead, Carolina got a far better outcome than the initial scare suggested, and that matters because Evans has become a quietly important piece of the offense. Even without eye-popping production last season, his combination of size, blocking and dependable hands gives the Panthers a different kind of value at a position that has been thin for years, which is why any absence there feels bigger than the box score would indicate. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face A Bigger Question About Bryce Youngs Next Step
Bryce Youngs 2025 season gave the Panthers something they had been searching for: a real step forward at quarterback. He completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and the overall arc of his year suggested a player settling in rather than merely surviving. Still, the tape and the numbers together pointed to a broader issue around him, because too many throws that should have been routine completions never got finished.
The receiving group did its part in creating that problem, with Tetairoa McMillan tied to eight drops as Carolina worked through a season full of missed chances and injury-related shuffling. For a team trying to build on Youngs progress, the next step is not just about the quarterback continuing to grow. It is about whether the Panthers can clean up the support around him well enough to turn those gains into something more durable next season. [Read more 🡒]