Back on the sideline Romo out with another injury for Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — Tony Romo is out with another back injury and it’s unknown when he will return, although Dallas coach Jason Garrett said he expects his star quarterback to play this season.
Garrett said Saturday that Romo sustained a broken bone in his back when he was hit from behind by Seattle’s Cliff Avrill and slid awkwardly on the third play of a preseason game.
Romo tried to get back into Thursday’s game and said afterward he was OK and did not need an X-ray. He added there was “normal soreness” that had “slowly dissipated.” But Garrett said the 36-year-old woke up Friday with stiffness, and an MRI revealed Romo’s fourth back injury in less than four years. The injury will not require surgery.
Garrett wouldn’t rule out Romo for the regular-season opener Sept. 11 against the New York Giants. Rookie Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick who has had a strong preseason, is the presumed starter, although Garrett wouldn’t acknowledge that, either.
“We’re going to monitor his condition day by day, and we’ll see how he feels going forward,” Garrett said. “There’s no time frame when he’s going to return.”
A source told the Dallas Morning News that Romo is expected to miss six to 10 weeks.
Another source told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Romo’s most likely return is the Oct. 30 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, putting him out for the first six games of the season.
The Cowboys plunged from 12-4 in 2014 to 4-12 last season, when Romo missed 12 games with a twice-broken left collarbone. Dallas went 1-11 without him.
Romo had back surgery twice in 2013, the first time during the offseason and again in December after rupturing a disk in week 16 against Washington and missing the finale that the Cowboys lost with a playoff berth on the line.
In 2014, the four-time Pro Bowl player sustained a small fracture in his back and missed a loss to Arizona before leading the Cowboys to the NFC East title and their first playoff win since 2009.