LONDON – Outlined against a blue-gray November sky, Tony Romo threw again.
Exactly 10 days after he broke two transverse processes in his back during Monday Night Football, Romo practiced with the Cowboys on Thursday as part of their preparations for Sunday's International Series game against Jacksonville.
Romo was a limited participant in the morning practice, though he declined to speculate on his availability for the weekend.
"We'll see. I think we'll keep taking it day by day and see what happens as we come a little closer," he said. "It's improving each day. I think we did some things today that were positive and if it keeps going that direction, we'll have a good chance."
This is the first time since the injury that Romo has done anything other than a walkthrough with the Cowboys' offense. The team didn't wear full pads Thursday, but Romo did get reps in shoulder pads and a helmet and he appeared to work with coaches and receivers on his throwing mechanics. He said it was "comparable" to a typical Thursday workload.
"I think it was pretty similar," he said. "I think I started off a little, I guess, smoother, to get into it and see how it would react and feel and then you start going a little bit as it went on."
[embeddedad0]It's worth pointing out that Romo said he didn't need any injections or painkillers to make it through practice – a sign of the progress he's made since re-entering that Oct. 27 loss to Washington. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was sure to include his "day-by-day" prognosis on Romo's availability, but he was optimistic about the quarterback's progress.
"Hopefully he is able to do what we want him to do on Thursday practice and as the week goes on, he'll feel good with the work that he has gotten and he can play in the ball game," Garrett said.
Romo's limited participation brings the number of Cowboys absent from practice down to three – Tyrone Crawford, Rolando McClain and Nick Hayden. Crawford continues to sit out with his MCL sprain, while McClain watched practice while nursing groin and knee injuries.
Hayden ran and conditioned with team trainers while he sat out with a shoulder injury.
The rest of the roster participated fully in practice.
