ARLINGTON, Texas – There's no need to speculate about the Cowboys' quarterback situation this week, as that issue was settled Sunday night.
Speaking to reporters after the 29-23 win against Philadelphia, team owner/general manager Jerry Jones said Dak Prescott will get the start next weekend in Cleveland, as Tony Romo is still on the mend from his broken vertebrae.
"Tony isn't ready to play," Jones said. "That is subject to Jason Garrett making the decision. But as far as the health issue is concerned of Tony, there is no need to push it that fast."
[embeddedad0]The Cowboys' continued surge certainly takes the pressure off the front office to choose a starting quarterback. Romo is two months removed from the compression fracture suffered in the preseason, but it's not as if they're in urgent need of a win, considering Sunday's win was their sixth in a row.
Romo returned to practice last week ahead of this game against Philadelphia, but his participation was limited. Jones said it's an encouraging start, but he'd like to see Romo prepare himself a bit more before potentially rejoining the fray
"My opinion is that we want him to have some more strengthening work done," Jones said. "He's really doing well – probably as well as at any time last year, as far as aspects of strength in his back is concerned. But he's got some more to do."
Prescott struggled to his worst outing of the 2016 season on Sunday night, but he still delivered in the clutch to deliver an overtime victory. The rookie completed 19-of-39 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns – including the game-winner to Jason Witten during the extra period.
When Romo is cleared to return to action, Jones said it'll take deliberation of the entire front office to determine a course of action. For the time being, though, the Cowboys aren't quite in a place where they need to make that decision.
"It'll be a combined call, but the No. 1 issue is Tony's health," Jones said. "When we think that he's really ready to go, we'll have a big input in here."
