For years we've been hearing how Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is such a competitor. And a Sports Illustrated interview with team VP Stephen Jones seems to show he was fighting for his job before finally conceding it belongs to Dak Prescott in a statement Tuesday.

Jones admitted to SI's Albert Breer that Romo met with higher-ups privately for a chance to get his starting gig back.

"He's very bright. And so when he came out and said it, in the end, I don't think it took him long to figure that wouldn't be a great thing for the team. We've got a good thing, and no one wants Dak looking over his shoulder."

Rookie Prescott has exceeded every expectation since taking over for Romo, setting new marks for rookie QBs and leading the Cowboys to an 8-1 record.

"We've got supreme confidence that Dak is our future," Jones told Breer. "We've just seen too much. And you may say, 'Well, it's only been nine games.' No, it's the full body of work. And it's not just on the field, it's off the field too. It's how he handles every situation -- bringing us back down two scores in San Francisco; last week, he leads the game-winning drive twice in Pittsburgh; coming back against Philly.

"He keeps checking every box."

Jones says that he thinks Romo understands the situation the team is in.

"As a competitor, does he want it? Yes. He wouldn't be in the NFL if he didn't have that burning in his belly. He's dying to get out there. And we talked all offseason, he's never been this fired up about a team, he couldn't wait. And now to see it work like he thought it would, and the team doing something special, and to want back in, that's not selfish. It's just hard. He's tremendously unselfish, because he understands it."

He also had high praise for Romo's statement:

"Tremendous respect, and compassion. To me, that was the epitome of team. Everyone preaches team. That was the epitome of team first. He's just tremendous competitor, and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. But at the same time, he respects what's going on with the team. I can't tell you much you respect the man."

So two good quarterbacks on the same team? That's one of the greater problems, to have in the NFL right?

"I wouldn't call it a great problem. It's a great situation," Jones told Breer. "It's hard on Tony and everyone who loves Tony, and that's this whole organization. But we're all in on Dak. ... Dak's special as well. This is a great situation. This is the most depth we've ever had on a football team in the cap era. Every guy here believes it, and it's been next man up. That started when Kellen [Moore] got hurt, and Dak went from 3 to 2."

Read the full SI report here.