Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo weighs decision on collarbone surgery

Tony Romo made an appearance at Super Bowl 50 on Friday, jumping from talk show to talk show on radio row.

This was not what he had envisioned in October when he told Tom Brady, “See you in February.”

Romo still seeks his first NFC Championship and agrees his career won’t be complete without a Super Bowl title.

“I think if you don’t get a chance to play and win a Super Bowl, I don’t think … that was your goal,” Romo said. “That’s the reason you play the game — for that. Hopefully, we’re going to be here soon.”

The Cowboys need their star quarterback to stay on the field to have a chance to break a 20-year Super Bowl drought. He played only two full games — both victories — and less than three quarters of two others, twice breaking his left collarbone.

Three backup quarterbacks combined for a 1-11 record.

Although Romo hasn’t played all 16 games in a season since 2012, he is confident his health won’t be an issue in the future. Two years removed from his last back surgery, Romo insists his back is stronger than it has been.

“The back’s not going to keep me out anymore,” Romo said. “I think the silly stuff is now still talking about the back, because it’s actually stronger than it has been. That part of the game, it seems as if I’m young again. I understand that other people want to talk about it, who have had back injuries. Some of them were probably either worse than mine or different. For me, the back is the furthest thing from my mind. It feels as strong as anything.

“Now the collarbone kept me out [this season]. That’s part of the deal. It happens sometimes. But we’re going to ensure it doesn’t happen again with whatever decision we make here, and I should be able to play another seven or eight years.”

Romo, who turns 36 in April, said he will make a decision by early March whether to have surgery on his collarbone.

“You weigh all of those things, but nothing is going to keep me off the field,” Romo said. “It’s just assuring you don’t hurt something that you hurt twice last year. It’s not as if I’m going to get an ACL redone. This is a bone. I understand. Bones heal. Sometimes you can help them heal. That’s really what we’re talking about. Should we let it heal on its own or should we help it a little bit so it won’t happen again next year?”

A CT scan last week showed good bone regeneration, and he said it has not been decided for sure whether he will have surgery. If he does, Romo could have a plate surgically inserted to reinforce the collarbone or he could have a Mumford procedure to shave the lateral end of the clavicle.

“We haven’t made a decision yet,” Romo said. “We look at it, and we’re like: Which one ensures most likely that it never happens again? That’s really what you’re trying to do. We’re asking a lot of people to get enough data to figure out. The reality of it is, it’s a collarbone and if the collarbone doesn’t hurt, I should be good to go to play out the final four to five years. That’s all we’re trying to ensure.”

The recovery time from surgery would be six to eight weeks, putting him back for organized team activities in May.

“I’ve been throwing pretty hard here this last month,” Romo said. “I feel as good as I’ve felt in two or three years as far as back and the body and everything. It’s been actually a very exciting month mentally. I had plenty of time off last year. For me, this is kind of like an off-season already. I’ll be ready to go here soon, even though we have a little time left.”

In other issues addressed by Romo:

▪ He said he hopes his former receiver, Terrell Owens, is elected into the Hall of Fame on Saturday. Owens, in his first year of eligibility, caught 235 passes for 3,587 yards and 38 touchdowns in his three seasons in Dallas.

“It’s great,” Romo said. “I hope he gets in. He played at a high level for a long time. I think, just statistically speaking, it’s kind of a no-brainer. I understand the off-the-field people talk [about]. But there are plenty of guys in the Hall of Fame who have good and bad. He did a lot of good stuff, too. I know sometimes he could be talked about in the media from both sides, but I think he’s very deserving.”

▪ He sidestepped a question about Johnny Manziel and the former Heisman Trophy winner’s off-the-field problems.

“I have a tough enough time trying to get myself ready and our team ready for next season,” Romo said. “I just think we have to have a great off-season to get ready to go.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo weighs decision on collarbone surgery."