Tony Romo will make flight to London
When the Dallas Cowboys depart Monday evening for London, quarterback Tony Romo will be on the flight.
Not only that, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he expects Romo to play Nov. 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"The proof is in the pudding," Jones said after the Cowboys' 28-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. "We certainly wouldn't put him on that plane and take him to London and fly over and fly back if we weren't planning on him playing."
Romo suffered two transverse process fractures in the Oct. 27 loss to the Washington Redskins. He was inactive for Sunday's game and spent time on the sideline trying to advise his replacement, Brandon Weeden.
As Romo walked out of the stadium Sunday, he was reluctant to say much.
"We'll get to London," he said, "and we'll get ready to play Jacksonville."
Jones said Romo will be given a first-class seat for the team's 9.5-hour flight to London so he can lie down.
Romo did not practice during the week but remained hopeful through Saturday night that he could play. Coach Jason Garrett said Romo improved during the week, and the decision was not made until 90 minutes before kickoff and the inactive list was due.
There is no risk of further injury should Romo get hit again. The fracture takes six weeks to heal, but his return to the field will come down to his ability to handle the pain and move well enough to play.
"We're optimistic," Garrett said of Romo's chances of playing against the Jaguars. "People with similar injuries have been on a similar timetable where they missed the first game and they were getting close to being able to play in that second game. So we'll see how he feels. Again, it's the same standard with the pain tolerance and how that relates to how he can function."
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty missed one game with a similar injury this season. Romo has demonstrated the ability to play through pain in his career. In 2011 he played with a fractured rib and punctured lung. He played last year at the Washington Redskins with a disk injury that required surgery five days later. He returned to the Redskins game last week after X-rays proved to be negative and he received a pain-killing injection.
"Hopefully Tony will get healthy and get back as quick as he can," tight end Jason Witten said. "I know he's doing everything he can to get back out there for next week."
