Jerry Jones has said that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo won’t play again this year due to a re-broken collarbone. But the team’s actions have yet to match the words of the franchise’s owner and General Manager.
Specifically, the Cowboys have not yet placed Romo on injured reserve, which would prevent him from playing again this year. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Cowboys currently plan to carry Romo on the active roster.
So why would the Cowboys keep Romo around if he’s not able to play for several weeks?
“Why else?” the source said. “The division stinks.”
Indeed it does. With the Giants and Washington at 5-6 and the Eagles at 4-7, the 3-8 Cowboys remain within striking distance of a playoff berth. If they can get to the postseason without Romo, they can get Romo back for the postseason, potentially.
The only downside will be having one less player available for practice and games. Still, seven players from the 53-man roster don’t dress each week. Romo will simply be one of the seven, for now. Also, with the practice squads expanded from eight to 10 players, the Cowboys have enough guys available to get the reps in throughout the week, even if Romo is contributing nothing.
It could all change, quickly. If the Cowboys lose to Washington on Monday night, Dallas may view the situation very differently by Tuesday. But if the Cowboys win -- and if the Giants and/or Eagles lose -- Dallas could still end up being the best of four bad teams assigned to the NFC East, and they could still have Romo when the time comes to play the best teams from the rest of the conference.