The Cowboys didn’t exactly draft their quarterback of the future this year, so the quarterback of the present figures he’ll just keep going until they do.
Via Todd Archer of ESPN.com, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said he can see himself playing beyond his current contract, which expires after the 2019 season. He even joked that with advances in modern medicine, perhaps “seven or eight years” is a possibility.
“I’m not in my mid-20s anymore, but I do think based on what my situation has been like the last three or four years, I do think this [offseason] is drastically different,” Romo said. “It takes me back five years ago when I was able to do things the way [I had]. I’m not there yet. I still got these months to just get after it, but it’s exciting to actually be able to get after it a little bit. But if everything keeps going the way it’s going, I think it’s going to be exciting going into camp.”
Romo missed most of last season with broken collarbones (the left one, twice). Surgery was performed in March to strengthen the area and he declared it a non-issue. But after back surgeries in 2013 left him limited, he hasn’t been able to prepare like this in some time.
“The further removed I am from surgery — and now it’s been quite a while — I can go a lot longer periods of time doing what I could do before. But for shorter periods of time before, it would just get heavy or I’d need a break or rest,” Romo said. “The torque you put on it, the jolting of stuff, the hits — it all takes a toll over time. When you have multiple back surgeries, you understand the process sometimes that it’s a little different.”
The 36-year-old quarterback hasn’t played a full season since 2012, but there’s still not a viable plan for life after him. The Cowboys failed in an attempt to trade up to get Paxton Lynch during the draft, settling on fourth-rounder Dak Prescott.
So it’s a good thing Romo feels better than ever, because they’re going to need him.