The Dallas Cowboys have not put Tony Romo in injured reserve despite the quarterback injuring his collarbone again, as the team is waiting to see how the division plays out before making a final decision. The Cowboys are just 3-8, but the NFC East is weak and the team still has an outside chance of winning the division and Romo could return by the playoffs if the team makes it.
The Cowboys lost against the Panthers on Thanksgiving, but the team has two games against the Washington Redskins over the next five weeks and could make up ground in the division standings. According to Pro Football Talk, sources said that the Cowboys are going to wait on the decision because the "division stinks" and there is an outside chance that Romo could return for the playoffs. Matt Cassel is set to start in Week 13, but if Romo can heal up and the Cowboys can win some games, he could start again.
The Redskins lead the division at 5-6 and the Giants are also 5-6 and they are trailing since they have a worse division record than Washington. The two games against Washington are crucial and the Cowboys obviously will need some help with the Giants and Eagles ahead of them in the standings. With Romo getting injured, some around the league and in the media have wondered when the Cowboys will find a firm replacement plan for the aging quarterback.
Jones was asked about the situation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Jones said that the team likely will consider taking a quarterback in the draft, but not necessarily one in the first round. The way things stand now, the Cowboys would have a top 10 pick in the draft and the team could take a quarterback if they pick in the top half of the round.
Jones said: "There's no doubt that we will be, as we move forward, continuing to try to get a situation where if Romo should get hurt, then we got a guy that can step in and carry us for some games, hopefully - that's a backup description I'm dealing with there - or at the same time, be developing for the future."
Jerry Jones previously said that Romo would be out for the rest of the season after the injury on Thursday, but the Cowboys have yet to make the move official. Reports after the Thanksgiving game had Romo likely out for the season after injuring his collarbone again, but the Cowboys want to wait until they are totally out of the division race before making it final. Romo had a rough game on Thanksgiving after helping the Cowboys snap a losing streak against the Dolphins, but the team clearly is better off with Romo than Cassel when Romo is healthy.