Cowboys hope to stay in contention despite injury to Romo
Brandon Weeden becomes the substitute quarterback over the next few weeks as Tony Romo’s fractured left collarbone heals. The Dallas Cowboys, though, won’t ask Weeden to shoulder the load.
“Tony is a more experienced player, way more experienced in this offense, and Tony’s one of the best players at his position in the league,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “Brandon hasn’t played as much. But the biggest thing for Brandon is take advantage of the opportunities when you get them.
“I think he did that for us [Sunday]. I think he has confidence, and we have confidence in him.”
Romo won’t need surgery, the Cowboys announced Monday, after a CT scan revealed no ligament damage. But he still will need around eight weeks for the bone to heal.
I think he has confidence, and we have confidence in him.
den
With a bye on Oct. 18, Romo might miss only seven games with a return for the Nov. 22 game at Miami. The Cowboys could place him on short-term injured reserve, freeing up the roster spot for eight weeks.
“This is about the bone healing,” Garrett said. “That is what it is; it’s very black and white that way. It’s not like, ‘Romo is tough; he can come back in four weeks.’ They are going to look at the bone and say, ‘Is it healed?’
“They have ways to measure if it’s healed and fully formed again and calcified the way they want it calcified, and they will say, ‘OK, great. You can play.’ Then we will see if he is functional. It’s really a black-and-white evaluation.”
Romo missed 10 games in 2010 with the same injury. But the Cowboys were out of the playoff race at the end of the season, prompting their decision to put him on injured reserve with two games to go.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers missed seven games with a broken left collarbone in 2013, and then-Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles missed eight games with the same in 2014.
The Cowboys are counting on Weeden to keep the team afloat until Romo’s return. Of the team’s next eight opponents, only the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks were playoff teams a year ago.
Garrett knows the role. He replaced Troy Aikman as the Cowboys’ quarterback in 1998 when Aikman broke his left collarbone in Week 2, and Dallas went 3-2 with Garrett as the starter. The Cowboys qualified for the playoffs with a 10-6 record.
“He’s been in our system,” Garrett said of Weeden. “He’s someone who’s played for us. He’s played in the league. So he’s an experienced guy. He’s a smart guy.
“Brandon will not play exactly how Tony plays. We don’t want him to play exactly how Tony plays. We want Brandon to play how Brandon plays. We have a system of football that we believe in, and we’re confident he can run it for us.”
With Weeden as the only healthy quarterback on the team’s 53-player roster, the Cowboys are seeking a backup. Their emergency plan Sunday against the Eagles was to use either Joseph Randle or Darren McFadden in the shotgun as a wildcat quarterback, Garrett said.
On his weekly radio show on 105.3FM, executive vice president Stephen Jones kept all options open for obtaining a backup quarterback, including a trade.
The Cowboys are working out several quarterbacks Tuesday, including Christian Ponder, Josh Johnson and McLeod Bethel-Thompson, according to sources. Ponder, a Colleyville Heritage graduate, was the 12th overall pick of the 2011 draft. He spent four seasons with the Vikings, posting a 14-21-1 record, with a 59.8 completion percentage for 6,658 yards, 38 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Johnson, a fifth-round pick of the Bucs in 2008, has bounced around the league, playing for four teams in six years with an 0-5 record, 54.2 completion percentage, 1,042 career yards, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Dallas does have Kellen Moore and Jameill Showers on its practice squad, but the Cowboys want a game-tested veteran. Moore has never played a down despite spending three seasons on the Lions’ 53-player roster. Showers is a developmental prospect.
Diminished chances
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo broke his left collarbone Sunday against Philadelphia and will be out at least eight weeks. NumberFire, a sports analytics company, offers these projections for Dallas with and without Romo, who will be replaced by Brandon Weeden:
With | Without | |
Record | 9.5-6.5 | 9.1-6.9 |
Make playoffs | 75.2% | 67.2% |
Win NFC East | 64.9% | 56.2% |
Win NFC title | 14.4% | 11.1% |
Win Super Bowl | 7.2% | 5.2% |
This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Cowboys hope to stay in contention despite injury to Romo."