Tony Romo’s doing something different this offseason.
Practicing.
That’s a big step for the Cowboys quarterback, who hasn’t done much the last few years because of a pair of back surgeries.
“The further I get away from the surgery the stronger I get in a lot of areas,” Romo said, via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “Now I need to continue. I’m working as hard as I can to ensure that I’m strengthening the areas that I need to be at my best and right now.
“It’s just been a good start in the offseason. I’ve been able to continue to build and grow. I’ll give credit to the training staff and the weight room staff. We’ve had a great process of figuring out how to continue to get stronger in the offseason, which I haven’t been able to do in the last few years, and that’s been as exciting as anything just to be able to get back into building that and the football stuff is just showing that on the other end.”
The summer of 2013 cyst removal was nothing compared to the microdiscectomy he had in December of that year, and as a result he’s been an occasional participant in Cowboys practices.
He didn’t take part in OTAs, never went two days in a row during camp last year, and never practiced on Wednesdays during the season to save the strain on his back.
So going three days in a row during OTAs is something of a landmark.
“We’ll see,’’ Romo said of his future schedule. “Once again, it’s a fluid thing that you really take it week by week. . . .
“I like to work, I like to grind, I like to push the envelope in a lot of ways. I haven’t been able to do that in years the past. This year, I’ve been able to kinda see. You know, I’m trying to figure out the baseline for this. We’ll figure that out along the way and we’re figure out what the best course of action is as we get into camp and it gets a little more ramped up with pads and things.”
The fact he’s given up golf hasn’t hurt, as he and the team realize they have a window for success, but one that depends on his health.