Dunno how this will work out. Tony’s up there with Gibbs as a central character.
Could be a situation where Weatherly’s new psych show fails and he returns after a couple of years being gone.
That has happened to major characters who exited and later returned in other series.
Several seasons ago, when ‘Gibbs’ quit and was in Mexico, it seemed that DiNozzo was being groomed as a replacement. DiNozzo didn’t seem quite able to handle the lead roll, however.