Tony Romo’s Back Has Healed, Now A Coaches Decision As To When He’s Active

ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that Cowboys QB Tony Romo feels he has recovered from the compression fracture in his back and is now ready and capable of playing and taking hits.

However, Werder says that no decision regarding Romo’s status for this week has been made but it’s possible he could be available if he can handle more strenuous work this week.

According to Werder, it’s now a coaching decision as to when Romo will be available to play and not a medical decision.

Following Sunday’s win over the Browns, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not rule out Romo being active in Week 10.

“Unlike last week, I wouldn’t speculate,” Jones said. “I don’t know. But he will do more. And he’s really doing things that are strong relative to last year’s strength. He’s ahead of last year.”

However, Ian Rapoport reports that Romo being active next week would be “a big stretch.” According to Rapoport, the plan for Romo on Monday and Tuesday is for him to focus on conditioning and change-of-direction but he may not even practice in full this week.

Rapoport says that Romo doesn’t sound ready return based on what he’s hearing.

Previous reports have pegged Week 10 as the earliest date in which Romo would be back. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Dallas is comfortable sticking with rookie QB Dak Prescott as their starter and buying Romo additional time to ensure he’s 100 percent healthy before he’s active for a game.

Even then, it seems unlikely that the Cowboys would make a change at quarterback or at least until Prescott struggles.

Romo, 36, is in the third year of his seven-year, $119.5 million contract that included $55 million guaranteed. He stands to make base salaries of $8.5 million (2016), $14 million (2017), $19.5 million (2018) and $20.5 million (2019).

In 2015, Romo threw for 884 yards while completing 68.6 percent of his passes to go along with five touchdowns and seven interceptions over the course of four games for the Cowboys.

We’ll have more regarding Romo and his return as the news is available.