Last season, the Dallas Cowboys tried to rush then 35-year old starting quarterback Tony Romo back onto the playing field following a collarbone injury he suffered in Week Two. The result was Romo being placed on IR after suffering yet another shoulder injury in Week 12, having played in only two games in his return and just four total contests for the season.
So when Romo suffered a compression fracture to his L1 vertebra in his back in their third preseason game this year, the Cowboys adopted a different mentality. Instead of banking their season on the veteran’s return, they decided to move forward, in a sense, without him.