Reports surfaced Monday that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo would not play again this season because of a back injury that requires surgery, but his status for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles remains a mystery.
“All I’m saying is [Romo] has back spasms, symptoms that we’re treating as we go along in the week to see if he will play,” team owner Jerry Jones told David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “There is nothing structurally that will rule him out if he feels good and is cleared to play. Nothing.”
Romo reportedly suffered the injury in the team’s Week 16 win against the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys won in the final two minutes of the game when running back DeMarco Murray caught a 10-yard pass from Romo on a fourth-down play and found his way into the end zone.
The last-second win set up a Week 17 matchup in Dallas between the Cowboys and Eagles, with the winner capturing the NFC East division crown and earning a home game in the wild-card round. The losing team misses the postseason.
Romo has played through pain on numerous occasions in his NFL career, but if the reports that he has a herniated disc are accurate, taking the field on Sunday could be a very difficult. Dallas reportedly signed 41-year-old quarterback Jon Kitna on Tuesday, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2011. He will likely back up Kyle Orton on Sunday if Romo is unable to play.
