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It was becoming apparent Dak Prescott was the future franchise quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But on Saturday afternoon the timetable may have been moved up a season or two.
Tony Romo has a broken back and could miss up to 6-10 weeks, a source told The Dallas Morning News. Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett will put on a brave face and create scenarios where Romo could play through the pain, but it would be foolish to rush him back to the field.
"We don't feel like this fracture in his back has anything to do with the other back issues he's had in the past," Garrett said during a conference call Saturday. "It's a separate incident. We're confident that he's going to come back and play football for us this year."
And there may be a point this season Romo's ready to return to the field. What the Cowboys and their fans have to hope is that Prescott will make that a difficult decision. If Prescott can build on his remarkable preseason, the Cowboys don't have to resemble the helpless 2015 campaign. I've seen nothing from Prescott to suggest this moment will be too big for him. Dez Bryant already swears by him, as evidenced by his live-tweeting during the Seattle game.
As Bill Parcells once said about Romo, "this won't go smoothly." But Prescott's future is now. Whether it was great scouting or pure luck, the Cowboys have acquired a rookie quarterback who is poised for a breakout season. Can you imagine how differently things would feel if the Cowboys were turning this over to Kellen Moore today? Prescott was a four-year starter in the mighty SEC. His transition was supposed to take awhile because he operated out of a spread offense. Instead, he's looked extremely comfortable in three preseason games. He is the unquestioned heir to Romo at this point. I would think about bringing in a veteran backup behind him, but that would only be in case Prescott gets injured.
This was going to be Prescott's team in a couple seasons when Romo headed into retirement. But there's no reason he can't take over now. Is there a chance Romo's taken his final snap with the Cowboys? Absolutely.
If Prescott continues to shred defenses with his arm and legs in the regular-season, there's no reason Garrett should guarantee Romo his No. 1 status. If Prescott is struggling, though, you can always go back to him. What the Cowboys have to accept is that Romo at age 36 isn't likely to play a full season again. I'd say most starting quarterbacks in this league don't suffer a broken bone on a similar tackle. Romo is one of the toughest players in the NFL, but his health has been compromised to the point where even nondescript tackles have a chance to end his season.
Jones and Garrett will lay out an optimistic timetable for Romo out of respect for him. But they know for better or for worse, this is Prescott's team.
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