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Dallas Cowboys will try to survive without Tony Romo

By The Sports Xchange
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott runs the ball for a gain against the Los Angeles Rams in the second quarter of a preseason game at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 13, 2016. Photo by Lori Shepler/UPI
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott runs the ball for a gain against the Los Angeles Rams in the second quarter of a preseason game at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 13, 2016. Photo by Lori Shepler/UPI | License Photo

FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys thought they had dodged a bullet in Seattle on Thursday when quarterback Tony Romo seemed to be just fine after being knocked out of the 27-17 preseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks three plays into the game.

Romo said he had no pain after the game and his recovery was an example of how strong his back was.

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But that was before he woke up Friday with discomfort, forcing the Cowboys to conduct an MRI.

The results were devastating to Romo and the Cowboys.

Romo has been sidelined indefinitely with a broken bone in his back, a compression fracture to the L1 vertebra, per a source. Surgery is not required.

Romo is expected to be sidelined six to 10 weeks, per sources, though coach Jason Garrett refused to put a timetable on his return.

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Garrett even declined to rule Romo out of the Sept. 11 season opener against the New York Giants because Romo has played with fractured bones in his back before. Garrett made it clear that Romo's season is not jeopardy.

"We're going to monitor his condition day by day and we'll see how he feels going forward," Garrett said. "There's no time frame when he's going to return. We are confident he is going be coming back and playing football for us this year."

Romo's most likely return is the Oct. 30 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, putting him out for the first six games of the season.

Rookie fourth-round draft pick Dak Prescott will take over until Romo returns.

"He's driven for this not to be like last year," Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said of Romo. "He's certainly not deterred and he really feels like it's going to be different, he's going to be able to get through this and he also feels confident that our team will be able to win games while he's not here. He's driven to help Dak win football games for us so when he gets back that he will have a great chance to have a great season, get in the tournament and contend for a championship, nothing's changed."

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Romo, 36, has not played a full season since 2012. He underwent two back surgeries in 2013. He missed two games in 2014 with fractured bones in his back. He missed 12 games in 2015 after twice fracturing his collarbone.

Garrett said Romo's current situation is not related to his past injuries, and his ability to play with two fractured transverse processes in 2014 gives them hope he can return sooner than later.

"Again, it's not related to the other back issues that he's had (and is) very specific to the hit he took the other night at the game," Garrett said. "He has played with fractures in his back before. That more than anything else is not giving us a time frame. We have heard a wide range of possibilities. We have to monitor it day by day and see how he responds. It's a matter of the bone healing and Tony being able to function with this injury. He has done that before. We are all optimistic he will be back soon and be ready soon and play at high level for us."

Prescott has completed 39 of 50 passes for 454 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in the preseason. He has also rushed for two touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 137.8 in three games is the highest in the NFL.

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However, the Cowboys were 1-11 without Romo last year and are 7-20 without him since 2006.

"Of course our success without Tony hasn't been good up to this point, but we fully expect to change that this year," Jones said. "We fully understand why everybody is going to question that, but we feel good about Dak (Prescott). We think our team feels good about Dak. The chemistry is there with the players and that's what we're going to focus on. But we totally understand there's going to be question marks and people are going to question whether we can get it done."

Jameill Showers is currently Dallas' third quarterback, but the Cowboys will look to add a veteran to back up Prescott until Romo returns.

--WR Dez Bryant didn't make the trip with the Dallas Cowboys to the Pacific Northwest as he is recovering from concussion-like symptoms. But that didn't stop the star receiver from voicing his opinions on Twitter throughout the team's Thursday night game against Seattle, which the Seahawks won 27-17.

And Bryant made it a point to say cornerback Morris Claiborne owed him 20 pushups for missing a few interception opportunities in the game.

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"I need my 20 push ups tomorrow 24... Two picks I know you could have had...#Cowboysworld," Bryant posted on his Twitter handle @DezBryant.

Claiborne agreed.

"I definitely owe him," Claiborne said. "As soon as I see him, I'm going to get down and give him those pushups 'cause we can't have that. For us to be where we want to be, those are big-time plays. Big-time plays for us as a unit, it can change the course of the game.

"For us to be a championship defense, I have to cash in on those opportunities when I get them."

Claiborne is coming off a season in which he had no interceptions. However, throughout training camp and in the preseason, Claiborne has gotten his hands on more balls and wants to take the next step in what has been a disappointing career to date.

Outside of the missed interceptions, Claiborne also gave up a touchdown in the second quarter. Claiborne had tight coverage, but still couldn't stop a perfect 9-yard pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson to Paul Richardson.

"It was a well thrown ball," Claiborne said. "Once he caught it, I tried to play it through his hands, but from the position he caught it from, there was nothing else I can do about it. When I got off the ground, I was like, 'Hey that was nice. That was a good play.'"

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--Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett reprimanded rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott for his visit to a legal marijuana shop before Thursday's 27-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Marijuana is legal in the state of Washington. But it is still banned by the NFL.

Garrett said he has expressed his disappointment to Elliott, who has apologized for his actions.

"I don't think it was a good decision," Garrett said. "He and I talked about that. It was a just a poor decision on his part. Young players have to understand that perception can be reality. And you have to understand that you are under a microscope 24 hours a day. And there is no good reason to go into a place like that. He understood. He apologized. He recognized his mistake. It's something he will learn from."

Garrett said he didn't believe that Elliott's visit to the marijuana shop, which was first reported by TMZ, will prompt a drug test by the NFL.

"It's my understanding it does not," Garrett said.

The Cowboys already have three players suspended by the NFL for violating the substance policy -- defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence (four games) and Randy Gregory (10 game) and linebacker Rolando McClain (10 games).

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Gregory is currently in drug rehab. McClain did not report to training camp and is not expected to play at all in 2016.

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