Jerry Jones won’t ‘rule out anything’ on Tony Romo’s return

It was reported this week that injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo would remain on the active roster as opposed to being placed on injured reserve.

Romo suffered yet another back injury after being hit by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril in a preseason game on August 25, breaking a vertebrae.

Romo’s injury, which is specifically a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra, usually has a 6-10 week recovery period. At the absolute earliest, Romo would be able to return for the Cowboys’ Week 5 matchup with the Bengals in Dallas (highly unlikely). If he needs the full 10 weeks to heal, that would put his return somewhere around Week 9 when the team travels to Cleveland to battle the Browns. In this case, Dallas fans will wonder why the veteran just didn’t go on IR in the first place.

Well, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones confirmed the news that Romo would remain on the active roster. Jones finally gave an answer to that question in a radio interview when speaking to 105.3 The FAN in Dallas Tuesday morning.

"“We don’t have anybody valuable enough to take up that lost spot to give us the opportunity to see how [Romo] does. There’s just not enough value there realistically to bring someone else in. … There’s nobody good enough to take that spot to give you a chance for that ‘if’ — if [Romo] can come back.”"

We know that rookie quarterback Dak Prescott will be the starter when the Cowboys host the New York Giants this Sunday. Dallas also signed Mark Sanchez over the weekend to be Prescott’s backup, a title everyone in Dallas hope he keeps forever.

Following their Week 7 bye, they Cowboys got the Eagles in Week 8. Jones was specifically asked if he thought if Romo would be ready for that game against Philadelphia.

"“I don’t want to rule out anything. I don’t know that anybody is qualified to do that. Medicine basically gives you estimates and guidelines, and I’m not trying to be vague here, but there’s no need to rule out anything. We don’t have a situation on the 53 [man roster]. This isn’t a day-of-game situation.”"

That sounds a little more like the Jones that everybody is used to. With Prescott’s abilities, one of the NFL’s best wide receivers in Dez Bryant, a reliable target in Jason Witten and Ezekiel Elliott running behind the best offensive line in football, the Cowboys’ offense could keep them in a lot of games.