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IRVING, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys will wait until game time before deciding on quarterback Tony Romo's status for Sunday's matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
It shouldn't be a decision at all.
Three days after suffering a severe muscle contusion in his back in the 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders, the team's franchise quarterback remains extremely sore and in pain.
A CT scan revealed no structural damage and that the injury is not related to the surgery he had last December to repair a herniated disc.
But the pain remains unrelenting.
And it will be that way for some time; certainly all the way up until game day, making it unlikely Romo will even practice this week.
A final decision on his availability for Sunday will be based on his ability to execute and function while withstanding the pain.
According to owner Jerry Jones, that all remains "a big if."
“At this time, we have nothing medically that would prevent him from playing,” Jones said Wednesday on the Cowboys' Flagship Radio Station. “What I mean by that is that there’s nothing to his injury that technically won’t function.
"This is a function of pain tolerance. But it’s a serious issue that you could look at people that have had a similar type injury and they haven’t played the next week, so that would cause you some concern about him playing.”
“It is not, at this juncture, in any way, a season-ending injury,” Jones said. “But it is one that raises the question of whether or not he can tolerate a certain amount of pain in that area. That’s about what we know right now.”
No one questions Romo's ability to handle pain. He did that Monday night when he returned to the game after X-rays came back negative. Romo took a pain-relieving shot and played the final two series of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Romo has demonstrated courage and toughness countless times before.
He returned to a game with a punctured lung and led the Cowboys to victory against the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.
He played through severe pain in his legs and back because of a herniated disc and led the team to a comeback victory over the Commanders last December.
Romo would later say that injury was the most pain he's ever experienced and still cringes when thinking about that game.
So there is no question his pain threshold is high enough to play through pain and go against the Cardinals.
“If it turns out to be just a pain tolerance, I will play,” Romo said. “That part has never been an issue. But we got to wait and see. It will be about your ability to be productive in some fashion. That part of it we will continue to evaluate.”
What's interesting is the shroud of secrecy in which the Cowboys are now operating.
On Monday, the injury was described as a back contusion.
But on Wednesday, Romo and the Cowboys turned vague and obtuse.
"I don’t want to get into specifics about what it is," Romo said initially about his situation. "We’ve already looked at it. It will be something you’ll look at each day. It’s unrelated to previous…You’ve got to figure out a way to manage it and go from there.”
But when specifically asked if it was still a contusion or something else, Romo replied evasively: “You’ve got to talk to the doc and training staff for that stuff. All these different terms."
Even more interesting is that the Cowboys seem unwilling to give him a pain-relieving injection to play against the Cardinals as they did so he could return to the game against the Commanders.
“That’s a good question," said Romo when asked why the same methodology wasn't being applied considering there was supposedly no risk of further damage. "I don’t know; you’ve got to ask the trainers about that stuff."
The Cowboys continue to maintain that this is not a long-term injury, and it has nothing to do with his disc surgery.
“No, it has nothing to do with back surgery or anything like that,” Romo said. “It’s different. It’s not like anything to do with disc trouble or anything like that, so we dodged a bullet in that regard.”
Still there seems to be something out there that the Cowboys fear.
And at this point, the prudent thing would be to err on the side of caution and sit Romo.
If there is any benefit to the team's 6-2 start and first-place standing in the NFC East, it is that the Cowboys have the luxury of being patient.
There is no need to put Romo and his balky back in harms way against an aggressive and blitz-happy Cardinals defense.
He is in this situation partly because the Cowboys couldn't solve the all-out blitz from the Commanders, who sacked him five times and hit him countless more.
The Cardinals already like to go after the quarterback and will certainly copy the Commanders' strategy and turn up the heat even more.
While Romo may be able to throw the ball effectively, he will be stiff with limited mobility, making him a sitting duck in the pocket.
The fact that the Cowboys have a game in London against the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 9 with a bye week following is even more reason to sit Romo and let backup Brandon Weeden play the next two weeks.
It would give Romo roughly four weeks to rest and heal up before he and the Cowboys begin the final stretch run to the playoffs against the New York Giants Nov. 23.
But the Cowboys are waiting until Sunday until making a final decision on Romo for the Cardinals game.
There should not be a decision at all.
Romo has nothing left to prove in the regular season. He owns all the team's passing records. He ranks fifth all time in NFL history on passer rating, behind Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Steve Young and Philip Rivers and ahead of the likes of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
All but Rivers own Super Bowl rings.
The thing that holds Romo back from being considered among the all-time greats is his lack of playoff success.
The Cowboys are in the best position to help him change the narrative and complete his legacy in 2014.
But that must be done late in the season and in the playoffs.
That's why sitting him now so he can be healthy for the stretch run should be the only decision the Cowboys make.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...
It shouldn't be a decision at all.
Three days after suffering a severe muscle contusion in his back in the 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders, the team's franchise quarterback remains extremely sore and in pain.
A CT scan revealed no structural damage and that the injury is not related to the surgery he had last December to repair a herniated disc.
But the pain remains unrelenting.
And it will be that way for some time; certainly all the way up until game day, making it unlikely Romo will even practice this week.
A final decision on his availability for Sunday will be based on his ability to execute and function while withstanding the pain.
According to owner Jerry Jones, that all remains "a big if."
“At this time, we have nothing medically that would prevent him from playing,” Jones said Wednesday on the Cowboys' Flagship Radio Station. “What I mean by that is that there’s nothing to his injury that technically won’t function.
"This is a function of pain tolerance. But it’s a serious issue that you could look at people that have had a similar type injury and they haven’t played the next week, so that would cause you some concern about him playing.”
“It is not, at this juncture, in any way, a season-ending injury,” Jones said. “But it is one that raises the question of whether or not he can tolerate a certain amount of pain in that area. That’s about what we know right now.”
No one questions Romo's ability to handle pain. He did that Monday night when he returned to the game after X-rays came back negative. Romo took a pain-relieving shot and played the final two series of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Romo has demonstrated courage and toughness countless times before.
He returned to a game with a punctured lung and led the Cowboys to victory against the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.
He played through severe pain in his legs and back because of a herniated disc and led the team to a comeback victory over the Commanders last December.
Romo would later say that injury was the most pain he's ever experienced and still cringes when thinking about that game.
So there is no question his pain threshold is high enough to play through pain and go against the Cardinals.
“If it turns out to be just a pain tolerance, I will play,” Romo said. “That part has never been an issue. But we got to wait and see. It will be about your ability to be productive in some fashion. That part of it we will continue to evaluate.”
What's interesting is the shroud of secrecy in which the Cowboys are now operating.
On Monday, the injury was described as a back contusion.
But on Wednesday, Romo and the Cowboys turned vague and obtuse.
"I don’t want to get into specifics about what it is," Romo said initially about his situation. "We’ve already looked at it. It will be something you’ll look at each day. It’s unrelated to previous…You’ve got to figure out a way to manage it and go from there.”
But when specifically asked if it was still a contusion or something else, Romo replied evasively: “You’ve got to talk to the doc and training staff for that stuff. All these different terms."
Even more interesting is that the Cowboys seem unwilling to give him a pain-relieving injection to play against the Cardinals as they did so he could return to the game against the Commanders.
“That’s a good question," said Romo when asked why the same methodology wasn't being applied considering there was supposedly no risk of further damage. "I don’t know; you’ve got to ask the trainers about that stuff."
The Cowboys continue to maintain that this is not a long-term injury, and it has nothing to do with his disc surgery.
“No, it has nothing to do with back surgery or anything like that,” Romo said. “It’s different. It’s not like anything to do with disc trouble or anything like that, so we dodged a bullet in that regard.”
Still there seems to be something out there that the Cowboys fear.
And at this point, the prudent thing would be to err on the side of caution and sit Romo.
If there is any benefit to the team's 6-2 start and first-place standing in the NFC East, it is that the Cowboys have the luxury of being patient.
There is no need to put Romo and his balky back in harms way against an aggressive and blitz-happy Cardinals defense.
He is in this situation partly because the Cowboys couldn't solve the all-out blitz from the Commanders, who sacked him five times and hit him countless more.
The Cardinals already like to go after the quarterback and will certainly copy the Commanders' strategy and turn up the heat even more.
While Romo may be able to throw the ball effectively, he will be stiff with limited mobility, making him a sitting duck in the pocket.
The fact that the Cowboys have a game in London against the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 9 with a bye week following is even more reason to sit Romo and let backup Brandon Weeden play the next two weeks.
It would give Romo roughly four weeks to rest and heal up before he and the Cowboys begin the final stretch run to the playoffs against the New York Giants Nov. 23.
But the Cowboys are waiting until Sunday until making a final decision on Romo for the Cardinals game.
There should not be a decision at all.
Romo has nothing left to prove in the regular season. He owns all the team's passing records. He ranks fifth all time in NFL history on passer rating, behind Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Steve Young and Philip Rivers and ahead of the likes of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
All but Rivers own Super Bowl rings.
The thing that holds Romo back from being considered among the all-time greats is his lack of playoff success.
The Cowboys are in the best position to help him change the narrative and complete his legacy in 2014.
But that must be done late in the season and in the playoffs.
That's why sitting him now so he can be healthy for the stretch run should be the only decision the Cowboys make.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...