Cowboys play waiting game to assess Romo's condition (Reuters)
28 minutes ago
DALLAS (Reuters) - Dallas Cowboys may wait until Sunday to decide who starts as quarterback against the St Louis Rams, head coach Wade Phillips was quoted as saying on Thursday.
The team said on Monday that regular quarterback Tony Romo could be sidelined for up to four weeks after breaking the little finger on his right throwing hand last Sunday.
But asked if Romo had definitely been ruled out of Sunday's game at St Louis, Phillips said: "I have no idea. All I know is he broke his finger and that's what we said all along.
"He did throw the ball some (on Wednesday). He's testing it out. But he didn't practice at all," Phillips was quoted as saying on the Cowboys' website (www.dallascowboys.com).
The coach told reporters that tossing the ball was not the only factor and other considerations included protecting the ball and the risk of further injury.
"It's fractured and the wrong kind of lick on it might make it more severe," Jones was quoted as saying on The Dallas Morning News website (dallasnews.com). "But they've developed a way to protect it so that he can throw."
Back-up quarterback Brad Johnson, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory in 2003, took most of the first-team snaps in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
He will start for Dallas (4-2) against St Louis (1-4) at the weekend if Romo misses the game.
"He did a good job," Phillips said of Johnson's practice. "I think everything went smooth. He can manage a game. He can manage a practice. He knows where to go with the football."
(Writing by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)