ORLANDO – While the Cowboys are still more than a month away from the start of OTA practices and about two months from their minicamp, injuries are always a concern, especially when the quarterbacks of both the offense and defense missed the last game of the season.
Fortunately for the Cowboys, team owner Jerry Jones was able to give a positive report about Tony Romo and Sean Lee, as well as Dez Bryant.
Starting with Romo, who missed the final game of the season when he underwent back surgery to repair a herniated disk, Jones said not only is Romo's rehab on schedule, but slightly better.
"We expected him to be where he is now and he is ahead of that," Jones said Tuesday morning from Orlando at the NFL's owners meetings. "He is ahead of expectations."
And the expectations all along had Romo coming back in time for the summer minicamp in June, and possibly earlier with some limited work in the OTAs. Jones was hesitant to say Romo was throwing passes, but said he's working his way to that point.
"Can he do the throwing motion? Is he doing the throwing motion? Yes," Jones said of Romo. "Is he out there throwing to receivers right now? No, he is not throwing to receivers. But he is ahead of our expectations right now." [embedded_ad]
Linebacker Sean Lee, who missed the final three games last season with torn ligaments in his neck, has been cleared for all workouts.
Jones said he recently visited with Lee and proclaimed the linebacker "good to go" in terms of workouts. In what seems to be a theme in his career so far, Lee was off to another great season in 2013 before the injury setbacks. He finished the year with 123 tackles and a team-high four interceptions.
While Dez Bryant didn't miss a game in 2013, he's had some nagging back issues that have limited him in practice and prevented him from finishing the 2012 season finale in Washington. Asked if Bryant's injury is a concern, Jones was rather emphatic in answering.
"No, no, it's just not," Jones said. "That's the best way I can say it. It has no impact on what we do in the future and how we are counting on him."
