Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that, depending on pain tolerance, quarterback Tony Romo will be available to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals and that his season is not in jeopardy.
“We have nothing medically that would prevent him from playing,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday morning. “What I mean by that is there is nothing to his injury that won’t function.
“This is a function of pain tolerance, but it is a serious issue. You could look at people who had similar-type contusions or similar-type injury and haven’t played the next week, so that would cause you some concern.”
Romo needed surgery last December to repair a herniated disk that kept him out for the entire offseason and limited him in training camp and the preseason. Coach Jason Garrett said this latest injury is not related to Romo’s back surgery.
He took a knee to the back during the third quarter of Monday’s overtime loss to the Washington Redskins but was able to return after an X-ray proved negative and gaining medical clearance. He did receive a pain-killing injection before going back into the game.
Romo arrived early to the team’s Valley Ranch practice facility on Wednesday morning for treatment. He had a CT scan on Tuesday. He did not report pain in his legs.
A short turnaround between games could be Romo’s biggest issue in playing against the Cardinals. The Cowboys would have what Garrett called a “jog through” practice Wednesday before getting into a normal schedule on Thursday and Friday.
Romo has not participated in a Wednesday practice since Week 2, as he and the medical staff decided it was best for him to sit out a day to build his strength and make sure he was ready for game days.
In 2011, Romo played following a broken rib and punctured lung suffered in a Week 2 overtime win at San Francisco, but he had an extra day of rest with the Cowboys playing on “Monday Night Football.”
If Romo can’t play Sunday, Brandon Weeden would make his first start as a Cowboy and first since Week 13 last year. He posted a 5-15 record over two years as the Cleveland Browns starter.
In two series of work Monday against the Redskins, Weeden completed 4 of 6 passes for 69 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten that tied the score at 17 early in the fourth quarter.
After Sunday’s game against Arizona, the Cowboys will leave for London on Monday for their Nov. 9 meeting against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the bye week after that game, Jones said the team has not had discussions about playing Romo this week and possibly sitting him against the Jaguars.
“The main thing is the tolerance,” Jones said. “We don’t know how impactful the soreness or impactful the stiffness would be on him. We don’t know that and won’t know that until probably as late as game time.”
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