Missing playoffs won’t stop Dallas Cowboys from making more roster moves

The Dallas Cowboys were officially eliminated from postseason contention after Saturday’s 19-16 loss to the New York Jets, which means Tony Romo could be placed on season-ending injured reserve to clear a spot on the 53-man roster.

The Cowboys held out hope for a borderline miracle to reach the playoffs in the disappointing NFC East, and wanted to keep their options open with Romo. That, of course, is no longer an issue.

“We’ll see what our need is there,” owner Jerry Jones said after the game. “If we see an opportunity to improve the roster, that’ll be more of a possibility tomorrow than it was today.”

Romo, who turns 36 in April, has been sidelined since refracturing his left collarbone in the Thanksgiving loss against the Carolina Panthers. He missed seven games early this season with the same injury, suffered in a Week 2 win at Philadelphia.

Romo’s value to the Cowboys became clear this season. The team went 3-1 in games he started, 1-9 in games he didn’t start.

The Cowboys will have another roster spot available after backup tight end Gavin Escobar suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on Saturday.

The Cowboys play at Buffalo on Sunday and host Washington on Jan. 3 to close out the season.

No quit

There’s no question this has been a disappointing season for the Cowboys. It started with talk of ending a 20-year championship drought and is now headed toward landing a top-five pick in next spring’s draft.

But the Cowboys are focused on trying to close out the season with as much pride as possible.

“We’ve got two games left,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “We’ve got to play the right way, but we’re going to have to find a way to take something going forward and get better, and when we get another shot we’ve got to be better.”

Added tight end Jason Witten, “Just go play hard. We’re all accountable for how we play. Go find a way to get a win. … We’re going to continue to play hard and go find a way to get a win. That’s the approach. There’s no other way to look at it.”

Briefly

▪ Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence registered another sack Saturday, along with four tackles for loss. Lawrence has six sacks in the past six games.

▪ Linebacker Anthony Hitchens filled in well for Rolando McClain (concussion symptoms). Hitchens finished with a team-high 10 tackles, and was one of four defenders to play all 71 defensive snaps.

▪ Kicker Dan Bailey banked in another field goal Saturday, his third knock-in off an upright this season. “It’s just kind of one of those things. It’s kind of ironic that we’ve had three in a year, but at the end of the day it counts the same as when it goes right down the middle,” Bailey said. “Obviously, I’d like to make it with a little less drama, but just glad we could give ourselves a chance at the end of the game there.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Missing playoffs won’t stop Dallas Cowboys from making more roster moves."