Tony Romo injury: Cowboy’s QB reportedly out for Week 9

After suffering a back contusion in the Week 8 loss to Washington on Monday Night Football, Romo was unable to recover in time to play against Arizona in Week 9. It was revealed later in the week that he suffered two fractures to his transverse process, two small bones extending from the vertebrae. There was some hope earlier in the week that Romo would play. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the press it was a matter of pain tolerance.

Rookie Dustin Vaughan will be active as the backup quarterback.

Romo took X-rays and had a pain-killing injection before going back into that game against Washington.

The transverse process is a small bone that sticks out on either side of the vertebrae, according to the report from Archer. Such an injury sounds serious, but it’s not necessarily a season-ending injury, or even one that should keep him out of multiple games. As the report notes, Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty had a similar injury this season and missed only one game.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was hoping to see progress from his quarterback, who hasn’t practiced since injuring his back last week against Washington.

“Obviously, we have to see him move around at some point before the game starts, so hopefully he can do something [Friday],” Garrett told NFL.com. “We’ll have a walk-through tomorrow, and we still got about 48 hours until the game, so we want to give him every chance.”

Romo had a CT scan on Tuesday to check the extent of the injury, but the Cowboys have been quiet about the results. It is unclear what exactly was found, making some believe the injury is worse than the original diagnosis of a contusion. However, no decisions have been made regarding whether Romo will be under center against Arizona at AT&T Stadium.

Romo was unwilling to discuss the extent of his injury, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News: