The Dallas Cowboys are trying to create less drama this year which is only creating more drama. The team's first day of training camp proved to be one headline after another without intentionally doing so. First came a slew of injuries regarding Jay Ratliff and Tyrone Crawford, the second being a season-ending Achilles tear. Now, with Tony Romo officially being back in action, head coach Jason Garrett is calling him out for his weight gain.
Romo is currently recovering from offseason back surgery where he had a cyst removed. He notes that he worked his absolute hardest to make sure he was ready and healthy to participate in this year's training camp. While the quarterback feels like he is in great shape, Garrett believes he has to condition harder before the season starts.
"I don't want to get into the details of what his playing weight is supposed to be, but he's right around it," Garrett said. "He's actually a pound over his prescribed playing weight right now, so he got his weight down."
Romo is a pound over, but he got his weight down? Romo's reported playing weight supposed to be around 227, while he came in listed at 236 pounds. Most of this can be credited to his offseason surgery which limited his ability to remain conditioned prior to reporting to training camp. Both Garrett and Jerry Jones have made comments about the quarterback's conditioning as Jones said Romo reported early to begin training in the weight room.
After a Sunday morning walkthrough, Garrett added, "He'll tell you right now he just has to continue to do the conditioning stuff necessary. When you're coming off an injury, that's always a big concern. You're trying to get the injury healed, but you've got make sure the conditioning is right. He's worked very hard at it. He'll continue to do that throughout camp."
As Romo continues to work towards being season-ready, the Cowboys plan on limiting his throwing throughout training camp. While being fully cleared to practice, Dallas wants to take no chances on their quarterback getting injured prior to game time. Garrett stressed that Romo will not be limited to a specific number of throws but more based on soreness and fatigue.
"One of the challenges for Tony, when you have a back injury, is it's hard for you to actually to stay in the kind of shape you want to be in," Garrett said. "...He looks great. He looks lean to me. We do have to monitor his throwing. I don't think it'll be significant."