National Football League

Witten: One thing you can't question is Romo's toughness

Published Nov. 5, 2014 3:16 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The location is much different, but the theme for this week remains very much the same — it remains to be seen if Tony Romo will be available for the Cowboys on Sunday.

Romo has gone through both team walkthroughs since the Cowboys arrived in London on Tuesday, but he sat out of Wednesday practice — as has been his usual routine during the season

"Following a normal schedule but also listening to his body," said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett when asked about Romo's absence. "We had a good, productive walk through at the hotel today. We anticipate him adopting the schedule we've had for most of the year."

It hasn't been determined if that means Romo will return to practice, as he normally would have before he injured his back Oct. 27 against Washington. He hasn't practiced with the team since that injury, when he broke two transverse processes in his back. He missed Sunday's loss to Arizona as a result, but no one is ruling out his availability for this International Series game against Jacksonville.

"He's tough, he really is, so I know he's going to do everything he can," said Jason Witten. "Our job as teammates is to encourage him, but at the same time we've got to continue our preparation as if he's not."

If there's anyone on the Cowboys' roster who understands Romo's history of playing through pain, it's probably Witten. Asked if Romo had proven his toughness, the veteran tight end referenced the Cowboys' 2011 win against San Francisco — nwhen Romo played through a fractured rib and a punctured lung to deliver an overtime win.

"I've said it for a long time over the years. Obviously that's a position that can be criticized and looked at in a lot of different ways and evaluated, but one thing you can't really question is the toughness and the will that he has. He's shown it time and time again throughout his career," Witten said.

Romo stayed at the team hotel to receive treatment on his back Wednesday, rather than observe practice. Garrett was hopeful he'd be able to do some work Thursday – though as always, it's a "day-by-day" situation.

"Obviously we want players to practice for three days prior to the game, but sometimes that's not the case. You deal with the situation as it is and try to get them as ready as you can as the week goes on," Garrett said. "Hopefully Tony will be able to move around tomorrow and get some work in and go from there."

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League