Cowboys News & Notes: Tony Romo Says He's "Ready To Rock"

Tony Romo to have CT scan on collarbone this week; 'I'll be ready to rock for OTAs' - Jon Machota, SportsDay
One unexpected benefit of Romo's injury is the rehab associated with the injury, which has Romo further along in his offseason preparation than in previous years.

I kind of wish that training camp was coming up. But for me, I already had an offseason almost during the year, so I feel as though I'll be ready to rock for OTAs."

Romo said he's scheduled to have a CT scan on his left collarbone this week. It has not yet been determined if he'll need surgery, but he says they have a "pretty good idea" of what route they will take.

Tony Romo further along in offseason schedule than normal - David Helman, Dallas Cowboys
Helman expands on Romo's conditioning.

Romo seemed optimistic about the state of his collarbone as he gets into offseason conditioning. Having had eight weeks to recover since he re-broke the bone against Carolina, he said he’s further along in his schedule than he normally would be – which he called perhaps the only positive of sitting out.

"As you get removed from the season a little bit, it’s gotten stronger and stronger, so it’s been good here the last couple of weeks just getting ramped up with some of the workouts," Romo said. "I’ve been able to go harder in the last three weeks than I have the previous six months, so I’m getting excited about that."

Tony Romo: No question, I'll be able to play for a while - Kevin Patra, NFL.com
Watching Tom Brady (38) and Peyton Manning (39) playing deep into the playoffs, Romo (35) said he plans to play for several more years.

"There's no question, I'll be able to play for a while," the 35-year-old signal-caller said Saturday, via the Dallas Morning News.

"I feel like the joke is, I've said it before, as everyone else is getting older, I'm getting younger," Romo said. "You just got to go out and do it and prove it. I think next year you'll see a little bit different Dallas Cowboys team."

Tony Romo: My back is as strong as it's been in 3-4 years - Jesse Reed, FOX Sports
The Foxsports content farm is picking up content from all over the place. This one is from Sportsnaut and offers a recap of two Tweets from Jon Machota, one of which quotes Romo as saying his back is "as strong as it's been in 3-4 years. That's exciting...I'm able to do things I wasn't able to do last year."

How Cowboys' season would've turned out with healthy Romo for 16 games - Jon Machota, SportsDay
Machota answers a reader question about what would have happened had Romo stayed healthy last year.

If Romo was healthy for 16 games, the Cowboys would have won at least nine games, beat the Redskins in the season finale and won the NFC East. I don't think the East is any good and I don't expect that to change much in 2016. If you tell me Romo is playing 16 games in 2016, I'm saying the Cowboys are winning at least nine games and winning the division.

When Will the NFL Have as Much Parity as the NBA and MLB? - Jason Lisk, The Big Lead
Not a day goes by without someone, somewhere extolling parity in the NFL. Lisk won't have any of that and makes a compelling case that despite having more teams than any of the other major sports, the NFL has less parity than the others.

In just the last five years, over 70% of MLB/NBA/NHL franchises have participated in the postseason and been among the final eight teams alive. In the NFL, it’s just over half.

There are simply more sad sack cases of long-time fan misery in the NFL than in other leagues.

But as convincing as Lisk's numbers are (and he has a lot of them to make his point), he leaves us a little wanting in terms of an explanation, only offering incompetent ownership as an explanation.

But the institutional ability (or incompetence of some owners) seems to perpetuate more in the NFL.

If that were true, and many Cowboys fans with a Jerry grudge would argue it is, then there must be something intrinsically different about ownership in the NFL than in the other sports, which I doubt.

Expect lots of wins with a healthy Romo - Bob Sturm, SportsDay
Sturm inadvertently provides a much better answer to Lisk's analysis in reply to a recent reader question.

Q: This season obviously turned into a disaster so is this thing back to being a mess or was it just a really unlucky season that can be turned around quickly?

Bob Sturm: Man, my head spins on this topic. I believe that this demonstrates how hard it is to be great for a long time in the NFL.

I don't love certain things about the way this franchise does business, but I do think they are in a better place than they have been. This season was a disaster, but they are very young, mostly homegrown, and have very few bad contracts now. They can bounce back quickly and be right at the top of the East again soon.

That said, this is a QB league - and so much depends on the QB. So, yeah, Romo needs to get right - and so does Dez. When they do, I expect lots of wins.

Four positions to watch with the Cowboys and the No. 4 pick - David Moore, SportsDay
Moore held a chat earlier this week in which he talked about the Cowboys' options with their top pick.

Much of the narrative in the coming days, weeks, and yes, months, will be should the Cowboys take a quarterback at the No. 4 pick.

Let's assume Jared Goff is gone, which I believe is a safe assumption. The only other quarterback in the conversation to be taken in the top five is Paxton Lynch of Memphis. If the Cowboys determine he can be a franchise player for them down the road and the drop off to the next quarterback talent is significant, I could see the club taking him at No. 4. If the Cowboys determine they can get a quarterback that is close to Lynch in terms of talent in the second or even third round, I believe they will lean in that direction.

Don't dismiss a defensive end, linebacker or cornerback at the No. 4 spot.

Troy Aikman said last week he thinks Tony Romo won't be happy if Dallas drafts a QB. Romo responded today. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/5iB1Uj9q42

— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) January 23, 2016

A record 107 total underclassmen entering the 2016 NFL Draft - Dane Brugler, CBSSports.com
With 96 players granted special eligibility and 11 other juniors who have already graduated, the official list of underclassmen in the 2016 NFL Draft is at 107, a new NFL record. But the rush have someone show them the money is going to result in a rude awakening for a lot of those young men, Brugler explains.

Of the 186 total underclassmen who declared the past two years, 34.4-percent went undrafted. Also, of the 84 total underclassmen who went pro last year, 13 (or 15.5-percent) were not invited to the 2015 NFL Combine.

Report: NFL Scouting Combine staying in Indy through 2020 - NFL.com Staff
The Indianapolis Star is reporting that the NFL has reached a five-year agreement that will keep the Combine in Indianapolis through at least 2020.

The Combine will be held in Indianapolis for the 30th consecutive year from Feb. 23-29 this year. There were rumors that the event would be moved to the Los Angeles Rams' new multibillion-dollar stadium complex scheduled to open in Inglewood, Calif. in 2019. This announcement delays that potential move.

That those rumors would surface at the exact time the NFL was negotiating a new contract is pure coincidence, of course. Honi soit qui mal y pense.