Tony Romo took hard sack during the third quarter of his team’s loss to the Washington Redskins on Monday night, which sparked concern that he may have re-injured his surgically repaired back. He was taken to the locker room and missed two possessions before being cleared to return to the game. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decided he would give head coach Jason Garrett the news about Romo’s return in person.
Jones went to the locker room to check on Romo after he left the game. It’s not unusual for an owner to look in on one of his star players, but it was somewhat surprising to see Jones whispering in Garrett’s ear during a one-possession game in the fourth quarter.
“I was here during the tail end of the examination and knew he planned to come back out and play if he were needed,” Jones explained, per Clarence E. Hill Jr. of The Star-Telegram. “Of course he was needed. I felt good that he could come back out. When he saw the opportunity he did. I told Jason that he would be back in.”
Jones said he was concerned over Romo’s surgically repaired herniated disc but felt better when X-rays only showed a bruise.
“We knew there were no structural issues when they gave him the X-rays,” he said. “I very concerned the fact that he laid there as long as he laid there. After we looked at the play and saw that was a knee kind of to the side of the back, then we felt better about it.
“We got him in here and looked at it real carefully everybody felt better about it. But he was certainly limited when he first got in here, but he loosened it up real good and went back out.”
We know Jones is a hands-on owner, but a trainer or team employee could have just as easily delivered the news to Garrett. Jerruh was probably overly excited that Romo felt well enough to return, so he couldn’t contain himself. Those who know Jerruh are not really surprised.
