Stephen A. Smith is saying what a lot of people are thinking — it's time for Tony Romo to hang it up.
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If it seems like Romo has been injured more often than not in recent times, it's because he has been. This is the fifth significant injury Romo's incurred in his 12 seasons in the league.
In 2008 he missed three games after suffering a broken right pinkie finger; Dallas went 1-2 during that stretch, causing them to miss the playoffs.
In 2010, Romo broke his left collarbone and he missed 10 games; the Cowboys went 5-5 in his absence with Jon Kitna.
In 2013, he had surgery for a herniated disk and missed the final game of the regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cowboys could have won the NFC East with a victory.
Last season, it was again a broken left collarbone and Romo would miss seven games; in his second game back, Romo suffered a re-break of the same collarbone and missed the remainder of the season.
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And now this — a compression fracture of the L1 vertebra. In laymen's terms, he suffered a lower back injury which should keep him sidelined for six to 10 weeks.
It's funny how things we speculate about sometimes have a way of taking shape. A couple of weeks ago, after Dak Prescott's second straight brilliant outing against Miami, we suggested that maybe people should tap the brakes a little on anointing Prescott "the next great thing." After all, we suggested, it's only preseason and the regular season has a way of making young quarterbacks fold under the pressure.
We also said that, coupled with Romo's increasing fragility, the Cowboys should add a veteran quarterback to the roster. Well, that day's here and Prescott may or may not be the real deal, but adding a savvy veteran has to be on the shortlist now. And, as Stephen A. Smith notes, Romo might be wise to take a long look at his fragile history before deciding to come back.
