The big hit Tony Romo took in the third preseason game resulted in an MRI, and the revelation of a broken bone in his back, which should mean a significant time out, and maybe another lost season for the 36 year old quarterback. Regardless of what it means for his future, the impressive preseason performances of Dak Prescott now mean more than before, as he’ll get significant time during the regular season as the next in line on the quarterback depth chart.
After making a smooth appearance in week 2 of the preseason, Romo, who had two collarbone injuries last season and surgery to repair the issue over the offseason, took a massive hit in the early goings of the game against the Seattle Seahawks, immediately sending him off the field. Prescott, like he’s done all preseason, looked rather impressive in the 27-17 loss, but the focus was on what the results of the MRI on Romo’s back will show.
Estimates are that Romo will miss between 6 and 10 games this season, after playing in only four last year, injuring his collarbone during two of them. Head coach Jason Garrett still hasn’t ruled Romo out of the week 1 start, and Romo is known to playing through injuries, playing through the 2014 season (starting and playing in 15 games, leading the Cowboys to their only postseason appearance since 2009) with two broken bones in his back, although this injury, at least from the rumors circulating around the team, seems to be more serious.
If Romo is indeed out for any amount of time, Prescott, a fourth round pick out of Mississippi State in the most recent NFL draft, will be the team’s starter, taking over for the injured Kellen Moore, and being overall one of the best performers in the NFL preseason. He has thrown for five touchdowns without a single interception while rushing for two as well. Overall, he has posted a passer rating of 137.83, which is great, even for the usually meaningless preseason.
As for Romo’s career, we’ll know more once there’s information about when he’s actually going to be back, which will help drive the speculation. He’s already had two seasons with injuries taking him out for a long time (2010, 2015) and other injuries adding up over the years, sometimes making him miss the final game of the season, which in their 8-8 run from 2011 through 2013, turned out to be very costly. If this indeed is an injury that takes Romo away from the game for more than half a season, it probably will mean the Cowboys are finally moving on from him, be it to Prescott or someone else taking over at some point.