Cowboys QB Romo wants to play despite broken finger

Having broken the pinky finger on his throwing hand in the Dallas Cowboys’ OT loss to Arizona last weekend, Tony Romo has indicated that he wants to try and play through the pain.

Initial reports on the injury were not encouraging, with Romo projected to be out up to a full month as his finger healed.  Since surgery wasn’t necessary, Romo decided to try and throw with a splint and encouraged by his performance—and a “pep talk” phone call from NY Jets QB Brett Favre who played through a similar injury while with Green Bay—reported to team officials that he wanted to try and play.

A final decision is up to the team, but it’s worth noting that Romo practiced on Thursday.  He did some “light passing” to his receivers and participated in the team’s stretching drills.  He was wearing a bandage and split on his injured right hand.  For the moment, veteran Brad Johnson is listed as the Cowboy’s starter but there’s significant support within the organization to let Romo give it a shot—not the least of which being the guy who signs everyone’s paychecks, owner Jerry Jones. Jones was interviewed on a local sports radio station and said that Romo could “very well play” but that the final decision was up to the coaching and medical staff.

This weekend’s trip to St. Louis, where the Rams are 1-4 on the year, could be a good litmus test as to the severity of Romo’s injury.  It’s obviously important to determine his true status before a stretch of tough games that include a home date with Tampa Bay and road games at the NY Giants and Washington Redskins.  Obviously it’s important to have some certainty heading into these big games, so look for Romo to either be “in” or “out” based on his performance against St. Louis, if not before.

While the Cowboys would obviously like to have their #1 QB under center, they’re in relatively good shape with 40 year old veteran Johnson who won a Superbowl with Tampa Bay in 2003.  The only real downside is that he hasn’t started a game since 2006, but like any good backup he’s confident that he’s ready to assume the mantle of team leadership.