Dallas Cowboys owner says Tony Romo has 4-5 years left to play

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is done for the season but owner Jerry Jones has an optimistic outlook on the long view of his quarterback's career.

Jones, speaking to 105.3 FM about Romo's future, offered a defensive position on his most important offensive player.

"This is not a damn debate, guys. This is not a debate we're having here. ... You're asking me what I think and I think we've got (an) outstanding quarterback ahead of us for the next four or five years," Jones said. "That's not a downer. Will we be looking to develop and get talent behind Romo? Absolutely."

Romo suffered a hairline fracture in his left collarbone and will miss the final five games. It's the second this season that he has broken the same collarbone.

Matt Cassel is the Cowboys' starting quarterback again now that Romo is sidelined with a fractured collarbone for the second time this season.

Cassel arrived Sept. 23 in a trade with the Buffalo Bills after Romo fractured his left collarbone in Week 2. He played the part of third-stringer for two weeks while learning the offense, and then Brandon Weeden's backup for a week before taking over the starting job.

Cassel went 0-4 as the starter before Romo's return last week against the Miami Dolphins.

"In this situation you never know," Cassel said. "That's why you've always got to be ready in this position as a backup. That's part of what you embrace when you become a quarterback is you've got to step in, and obviously Tony's been a leader here for 13 years of his career, and now it's time.

"Obviously, you don't replace a guy like Tony Romo, but at the same time, you've got to be you, and hopefully the guys rally around you, and you move forward. I have a lot of confidence in myself. I have a lot of confidence in this team. It's about getting back to work."

Cassel has a personal six-game losing streak, not counting the season opener this year when he lined up at quarterback for the Bills and starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was split out wide. Cassel's last victory came in the 2014 season opener for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Cowboys are 6-16 without Romo since he became the starter in 2006.

"Obviously, Matt's got some experience in our offense now and did a nice job when he got back in," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said of Cassel, who went 13-for-19 for 93 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.