Dallas Cowboys’ Quarterback Tony Romo Done For The Season
A nightmare season for the Dallas Cowboys got even worse on Thanksgiving Day. Not only were they pummelled by the Carolina Panthers on the home field but they lost starting quarterback Tony Romo to a season ending injury.
Romo suffered a hairline fracture of the left collarbone following a hit by the Panthers’ Thomas Davis during the Cowboys’ 33-14 loss. The crack was in the same area as his earlier fracture that caused him to miss seven regular season games. According to team owner Jerry Jones, Romo will not have to have surgery on his collarbone and will be ready to go for the offseason conditioning program that begins in March. Jones denied that Romo was brought back too soon from his original injury but admitted that he hoped that the team could do ‘something special’: “We felt that the risk was worth the potential of having him be the impact he can be and he is on our team. And really having a fairy tale turnaround and doing something that was special, to me, that’s what we’re about. That’s what sports is about. You shouldn’t ever quit trying to do something that is extraordinary.”
Jones used Dallas’ Thanksgiving Day opponents as an example–the Carolina Panthers had an awful 2014 season but are currently 11-0 and running roughshod over the NFC South: “This time last year, for instance, Carolina was 3-8-1, and so it happens. Of course, with Tony, the dream was if Tony could have come in, been the catalyst, played similarly and had results we had the week before against Miami, against a really great team … that it would’ve been the beginning of maybe something special.”
This is the second time in the past six seasons that Romo has suffered a season ending collarbone fracture. He missed the final 10 games of the 2010 season with the injury. Matt Cassell will take over as the starting quarterback. Cassell was acquired from the Buffalo Bills in late September and went 0-4 as a starter. Kellen Moore will be activated from the practice squad to serve as Cassell’s backup. The only good news for the Cowboys is that they won’t play again until Monday, December 7 giving them time to get the new quarterbacks up to speed.