Cowboys’ Tony Romo out indefinitely with broken bone in back

An MRI revealed Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken bone in his back after being injured during Thursday’s preseason game.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken bone in his back, head coach Jason Garrett told reporters on Saturday.

Pro Football Talk reports Romo is expected to miss 6–10 weeks. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the best-case scenario is a mid-season return, noting that Romo played with a different broken bone in his back in 2014. There is currently no timetable for his return, according to the team, but it is not a season-ending injury.

Romo, 36, was sacked by Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril while scrambling during Thursday’s preseason game and landed awkwardly, leaving the game under his own power but unable to return. An MRI later revealed the fracture.

Romo played in just four games last season as a recurring shoulder injury kept him sidelined. He had missed just two games the previous four seasons combined.

Tony Romo walks off the field with an apparent injury after being tackled. #DALvsSEA https://t.co/IILl1huJth

— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2016

• Prescott gives Cowboys valuable depth at QB

Dallas selected quarterback Dak Prescott out of Mississippi State in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Prescott replaced Romo in the first quarter of Thursday’s game. Kellen Moore is the Cowboys’ other backup quarterback.

Without Romo for much of the season and with star wideout Dez Bryant also missing time, the Cowboys finished 4–12 last season, last in the NFC East.