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FRISCO, Texas -- The quarterback mystery surrounding the return of Tony Romo from a fractured bone in his back is taking over the Dallas Cowboys. The team didn't place Romo on the injured reserve list to start the season because it thought he could return sooner than the eight-week timeframe of short-term IR.
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The Cowboys are at that threshold now with the Oct. 30 matchup against the Eagles, yet Romo's return is not on the horizon.
Romo did not practice the team this week, and coach Jason Garrett can't promise he will be ready to practice when the Cowboys return from the bye next week to start preparing for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The scenario essentially rules him out of returning to face the Eagles, though the Cowboys refuse to acknowledge as much.
If Romo doesn't do anything in practice next week, there is little chance he would be ready for the Nov. 6 game against the Cleveland Browns the following week, considering his elongated absence.
Look for rookie Dak Prescott, who has led the Cowboys to a 5-1 record in Romo's absence, to continue to start at quarterback for the near future.
That seems logical, but it is getting ahead of things, per Garrett.
"We're going to take Tony's situation day by day, and we'll take all the players who are injured, we'll take all their situations day by day as well," Garrett said Wednesday when asked specifically if Romo should be ruled out of the Eagles game. "Tony needs to have a good day today, and he'll come back tomorrow and hopefully continue to progress."
Garrett said there is no timeline on when Romo will be cleared for practice, but the quarterback is doing more and more with his rehab every day. While the rest of the team takes the next four days off, Romo will use the bye week to continue his rehab.
"He's getting better," Garrett said. "He has been throwing the ball the last week or so, and that's been a good thing for him. He's working on healing up, and he's working on redeveloping the strength in his core which has been so critical for him coming off the back surgery the last couple of years.
"It's just a day-by-day thing. The injury is still healing. Every report we've got about the healing process has been positive. He's making strides. He's working on his overall conditioning, the conditioning of his core and he's getting himself back to being able to play football again."
Garrett has seen Romo throw but said the intensity level is not yet up to game standards.
Garrett also refused to speculate on how much time Romo would need in practice before he would be ready to start a game.
"Again, that's hypothetical," Garrett said. "We're really just focused on what he needs to do."
Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan parroted Garrett's shunning of hypothetic situations when asked if he has allowed himself to look ahead to Romo's return. Linehan said there is no point because the Cowboys don't know when Romo will be available.
"If we get beyond where we are now and start thinking about hypotheticals, we're doing the wrong thing," Linehan said. "We'll be crossing that bridge at some point, we just don't know when that will be.
"We're focused on getting ready for the Eagles, that's it, and we can't get beyond that or I feel like it would be a distraction."
--During the bye week, Prescott will bypass a late-night television show appearance and an overseas endorsement opportunity to go home to Louisiana and spend time with his grandmother.
"It's football and family," Prescott said. "That's what I focus on. If I have time to get away and spend time with my family that I'm not going to get to do for a while that I haven't done for a while, I'm going to take advantage of it. It's more important to me to spend time with my family than go with those deals. ...
"Those deals with be there. If they really want it bad enough, they will find a way."
Prescott's attitude comes as no surprise to his coach.
"It doesn't surprise me one bit," Garrett said. "That is what he is all about. He is very focused on the right things in life. Family is very important to him. Football is very important to him. He has worked very hard to be prepared for every opportunity we have given him. I think he wants to get away from things the next couple of days. Get with people he knows and loves and come back ready to go on Monday."
