The game of musical chairs triggered by Tony Romo’s arrest last month has moved Ross Tucker up the CBS NFL depth chart.
CBS announced Tuesday that Tucker will work alongside Ian Eagle on its secondary NFL broadcast team, filling in for Eagle’s usual partner J.J. Watt, who is joining Jim Nantz in the network’s lead booth during Romo’s indefinite leave of absence. Eagle and Tucker are scheduled to work Bills-Texans in Week 1 of the season, with Nantz and Watt on Packers-Vikings.
Tucker worked last season alongside play-by-play voice Tom McCarthy on select regional games.
CBS was already set for a shake-up this NFL season even before Romo’s arrest last month. The departures of Charles Davis and Jason McCourty — the former to the CBS college football booth and the latter to ESPN — left Andrew Catalon without a partner. He will work alongside Logan Ryan in Week 1.
With Tucker moving up to the Eagle booth, McCarthy will be joined in Week 1 by CBS Sports Network college football analyst Robert Turbin.
Another newcomer to CBS NFL coverage this season is Luke Kuechly, who was recently named a game analyst for Netflix this season. Kuechly, who like Turbin previously served as a college analyst for CBSSN, is otherwise occupied in Week 1, working the 49ers-Rams game from Australia for Netflix. No date was given for his CBS debut.
Returning intact from last season in Week 1 are the teams of Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta and Kevin Harlan and Trent Green. Sideline reporters from last season are unchanged.
As for Romo, CBS Sports president David Berson said at the network’s media day Tuesday that there is “no timetable or final decision” yet on his status. “It’s an evolving situation and we are still assessing,” he said, according to reporters who were in attendance.
Berson notably invoked the “image” and “brand” of CBS, which he characterized as “very important.”
Romo is approaching a decade with CBS, having originally joined the network in 2017 and signed a then-record $18 million/year extension in 2020. He was arrested late last month on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and is now on an indefinite leave of absence from CBS. He has a court date set for September 21, the Monday of Week 2.
