Monday night brought a familiar voice back to NFL television, and the welcome was far from unanimous.

Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, turned up on Pat McAfee’s ESPN2 alternate broadcast of the Buffalo Bills’ 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings. It was his first TV appearance since his arrest this summer for operating while intoxicated.

The cameo left NFL fans divided over whether Romo, who parted ways with CBS in October, belongs on a game broadcast again. Some fans tied the cameo to speculation that Romo could succeed Troy Aikman, whose future in ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth remains unsettled.

NFL Fans Divided on Tony Romo Potentially Replacing Troy Aikman on MNF

Romo joined Field Pass with Pat McAfee, the ESPN2 alt-cast, by video during the Bills-Vikings game, and McAfee introduced him as a “quarterback expert.”

Over nearly five minutes of game time, Romo broke down the action, talked up Brian Flores and the Vikings’ defense, and slipped back into his old pre-snap cadence for a Justin Jefferson joke.

As the segment wrapped, McAfee made the goodbye personal: “We missed the hell out of you this season. … We appreciate you, brother.”

However, one fan, setting the alt-cast duo against ESPN’s main Monday Night Football booth, already had a preference: “Pat and Tony are way better than Joe and Buck.”

Aikman’s longtime partner, Joe Buck, has reportedly agreed to a six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN. The two first paired up at FOX in a partnership that is now more than 20 years old.

Meanwhile, another fan pointed to the OWI arrest and wanted no part of the idea of Romo’s come back. “That immediately sparked rumors ESPN is soft-launching him to replace Troy Aikman next to Joe Buck. He shouldn’t be back in a broadcast booth.”

The same fan added, “Drunk driving isn’t a minor slip.”

Before his exit, Romo had called games in CBS’s No. 1 NFL booth beside Jim Nantz, and other fans were simply glad to hear his voice on a live NFL game again after months away.

One fan thanked McAfee directly. “Big shout out to you, Pat, for bringing the great NFL announcer Tony Romo on live for MNF … We miss Tony.”

This fan, answering the same post, kept it brief: “Miss this man.”

But not everyone was ready to move past the arrest.

After the OWI charge, footage of Romo’s sobriety test became public, and CBS put him on leave. Monday ended a long stretch of near silence for the former Cowboys star, whose public moments since the arrest had been limited to a handful of statements and a short stop at a PGA Q-School event.

This fan pushed back on McAfee’s “You’re the man” send-off: “Disagree. … Bro’s got some issues to work out.”

Romo has not announced his next move. For now, Monday’s segment stands as his first football commentary since he left CBS, delivered by video on ESPN2 rather than from a broadcast booth.

It remains to be seen whether ESPN will sign Aikman to a new deal or choose Romo as Buck’s partner next season. For now, Buck and Aikman are confirmed to call ESPN’s broadcast of the 2027 Super Bowl.