BOBBY BURACK: It's almost certainly over for Troy Aikman and Joe Buck as a duo

It is almost certainly over for Troy Aikman and Joe Buck as ESPN’s lead NFL broadcast team.

Reports that the ongoing drama is part of a leverage strategy now appear increasingly implausible. No one with knowledge of the situation expects Aikman to remain with ESPN beyond the end of this season.

In fact, there is more industry discussion about whether Aikman and Buck can work together through ESPN’s Super Bowl broadcast in February than about whether Aikman will re-sign with the network.