Tony Romo to be ready for full work week
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is expected to practice three straight days for the first time this summer when the players return to practice on Wednesday.
During training camp Romo never worked more than two straight days as he worked his way back from December back surgery. He did not play in the preseason finale on Aug. 28 against the Denver Broncos and sat out one of the two full days of practice.
Coach Jason Garrett said Romo had a “good day” in Monday’s practice. Players will be off on Tuesday and return for practice on Wednesday-Friday.
“The thing I kept reminding Tony about as we went through this process, starting all the way back in the spring was the goal is to be ready for the 49ers, Sept. 7 at our stadium,” Garrett said. “So we’re going to find our way, somehow, someway we’re going to get you to that point to where you’re ready to go and hopefully behind that. Play that game and that’s the start of a heckuva year for you.”
That doesn’t mean Romo will take every snap in every practice like he did five years ago or like he did last year during the week. In all likelihood Romo will be listed as limited in practices because he will not do everything.
“I think the whole thing is semantics,” Garrett said. “We’re going to get him into a routine and get himself ready to play. If the standard is based on what he did six years ago, I don’t know if that should be the standard. We’re going to get him ready to play. At different times last year, he was able to more things than at other times. But that’s really every guy on our team.”
Romo played in only two of the Cowboys’ four preseason games. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 167 yards with a touchdown in games against the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins. He was sacked three times and hit once more in the first half against the Dolphins.
“I think the last couple of weeks, I think we’ve seen Tony really be himself,” Garrett said. “He’s moved around in practice very spontaneously, made a lot of throws. He’s taken hits in games. He’s come back from all that stuff. He’s worked very hard to get himself to a point where he’s 100 percent with his back and it’s going to be a work in progress for him just like it would be for anybody coming off of any kind of injury. He’s really looked like himself to me. I think he’s got that look on his face. He’s got confidence about his body being where it needs to be. He like everybody else is just getting ready for this challenge this weekend.”
