ARLINGTON, Texas – Tony Romo is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday, and Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones was confident it would reveal some good news
"I just know that I do expect a good report Monday," Jones said following his team's 28-14 win against Cincinnati. "I know that Tony is feeling better."
That much has been obvious, considering that Romo is once again throwing and conditioning after fracturing a vertebrae in his back in mid-August. But with roughly six weeks having passed since the injury, Jones said his quarterback is recovering on schedule.
He even added that he expects Romo's latest MRI to reveal the bone to be healed.
"I've been told that as of the last MRI, that the next one they take would show that," he said
The thought of Romo's healthy return prompts some interesting questions about the future, considering what all has happened since he first suffered the injury.
The Cowboys have won four-straight games on the strength of some incredible play from rookie quarterback Dak Prescott. Sunday's dominant win against the Bengals might have been the most impressive entry to date, as Prescott threw for 227 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on the ground.
It might not be an issue Cowboys officials want to address, but there's been no shortage of speculation from fans and media that perhaps Prescott should maintain his hold on the starting role – even when Romo returns.
[embeddedad0]But if that's something that is troubling Jones, he certainly didn't show it as he quashed the thought with relative ease.
"Tony is our No. 1 quarterback. We're going to have the luxury of being able to, I think, see them both," he said. "I don't want to presume that Dak is going to be necessarily healthy, I don't want to presume anything like that. But I welcome the opportunity of having Dak playing at this level and Tony back in excellent health. It's going to be really special for the Cowboys."
It likely isn't a problem the Cowboys will have to face just yet. Even if Romo's MRI reveals him to be healed, it seems unlikely he'd rush back to play next week against Green Bay. And with a bye week looming after that trip to play the Packers, the Cowboys have another added week to let Romo recover.
That fact is why reports target the Week 8 game against Philadelphia as Romo's likely return date. But when he was asked about that on Sunday, Jones was reluctant to speculate on timelines. He made the very fair observation that the Cowboys' 4-1 record gives them time to figure out their gameplan.
"I don't think we could – and should – get ahead of ourselves and start looking at a spot," he said. "If we can keep winning these ballgames and end up with an improved team as we move along, the arrow going up, then that would put us in good shape if you wanted to kind of look down the road like we're doing here. But let's get Green Bay."
Having said that, each passing week brings the Cowboys closer to having two healthy, capable starting quarterbacks on their roster. And if that sounds like a stressful proposition, Jones assured everyone – it's not.
"I'll show you some hard days around here without a quarterback, if you want one that'll really make you pout," he said. "That's not a problem, to have that."
