Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said pain tolerance will be the overriding factor in whether Romo plays next Monday night against the Redskins.
If that's truly the case, then it would seem like Romo will be out there in the starting lineup, as he finished Sunday's improbable comeback in excruciating pain because of a fractured rib and punctured lung injury.
"I don't know. I really don't," Jones said Tuesday morning on 105.3 FM The Fan when asked about Romo's status for Washington. "I understand the nature of the injury as much as you can without being in medicine. We'll just have to see how it goes. It has everything to do with just his ability to handle the pain, and we know he has a bunch of it.
After a CT scan on Monday, it was determined Romo had a punctured lung, described medically as a pneumothorax. The Cowboys officially announced that injury and said his status will be continually monitored throughout the week.
As for the pain, Romo said after the game that he couldn't "imagine it being any worse" that what he felt in San Francisco. He also told coach Jason Garrett on the sidelines that he would eventually have to play with this pain, and that seemed to be the reasoning enough for Garrett to allow him back in the game last Sunday.
When asked on Monday about Romo's chances of playing, given that he played through the injury Sunday, Garrett said he "would not think there's any reason he won't play Monday," but then added he and the team is "hopeful" Romo will play.
Ultimately, it will come down to how Romo feels.
"I think that you just have to depend upon in this case the player, in this case Tony's sense of what his body is telling him," Jones said. "That's what he did, and he ultimately, of course, was told to sit out when he came out but didn't honor that. We allow players to give us those kinds of reads in most areas with the exception of your concussion area and your head area."
