Tony Romo likely to be out first 8 weeks for Cowboys

While Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett would never move off his day-to-day time frame for quarterback Tony Romo, the most hopeful prognosis in the organization was a return after the team’s bye.

The initial time frame of six to 10 weeks is now being pegged at eight to 10 weeks, making it more likely that the Cowboys place their starting quarterback on short-term injured reserve that would sideline him for the first eight weeks of the season.

The compression fracture to Romo’s L1 vertebra must fully heal before Dr. Drew Dossett clears Romo’s return, unlike in 2014 when the quarterback played through two transverse process fractures in his back, according to a source.

A transverse process fracture is not considered as serious an injury. It is more like a muscle tear than a bone fracture, and the time to heal is faster. Romo missed only one game in 2014.

But this injury is different.

Romo will stay on the 53-man roster when the Cowboys make final cuts on Saturday. Then, the team will decide whether to move him to the injured reserve/designated to return list, opening up another roster spot for at least the first seven games of the season.

“But it may be that we just keep him on the roster,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “We’ll just see.”

It’s a delicate situation, because if the Cowboys think Romo can return sooner they will not put him on injured reserve. The initial thought was that he could return Oct. 30 against the Philadelphia Eagles, after the Cowboys’ bye week, meaning he would miss the first six games.

If Romo goes on short-term injured reserve, he could not return before the game against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 6.

Bailey ready

Kicker Dan Bailey is in regular-season form.

After missing a 52-yard field goal last week against Seattle, Bailey was true from the same distance Thursday against the Texans. Bailey’s effort came on the final play of the first half.

Bailey is 21-of-29 in his career from 50 yards, including 5-of-6 last season. The Pro Bowler made a 51-yarder against the Miami Dolphins in the second preseason game but was wide left last week from 52.

Roster watch

The Cowboys rested their starters and regulars in the fourth preseason game, which doesn’t bode well for defensive tackle Cedric Thornton and reserve tight end Gavin Escobar.

Thornton, who ranked as the top defensive free agent for the Cowboys in the off-season, started. That’s a sign he hasn’t won a starting job yet. But Thornton did have a solid performance in the first half, recording two tackles and one for loss.

Escobar, meanwhile, might not be with the Cowboys much longer. The 2013 second-round pick hasn’t done anything to make himself indispensable, and hauled in one pass for 13 yards in the first half Thursday.

Undrafted rookie Austin Traylor has made a strong case to make the team throughout training camp, leaving Escobar possibly on the outside looking in. Jason Witten and Geoff Swaim have secured spots on the 53-man, and sixth-round pick Rico Gathers is a candidate for the practice squad.

Other observations from the first half:

▪ Joe Looney started at center, and Chaz Green started at left tackle. Those were the only offensive linemen likely to make the 53-man roster to play Thursday.

▪ Darius Jackson started at running back and finished the first half with 16 rushing yards on seven carries, and another 32 receiving yards (including an 18-yard TD reception). Jackson solidified his case to make the 53-man roster.

▪ Second-year pro Ryan Russell had been expected to take a step forward in his second season and got a start Thursday. But he didn’t flash in the first half. Instead, the star of the defensive line ended up being David Irving, who had four tackles and forced a fumble in the first half.

▪ Sixth-round pick Anthony Brown and Deji Olatoye each started at cornerback and had their moments. Brown returned an interception of a Brandon Weeden pass 59 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. But Olatoye was the victim on the Texans’ 64-yard TD pass from Weeden to Keith Mumphery at the end of the first half.

Transactions

The Cowboys waived long snapper Zach Wood and signed quarterback Jerrod Johnson on Thursday.

Staff writers Charean Williams and Drew Davison contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Tony Romo likely to be out first 8 weeks for Cowboys."