Cowboys QB Romo will not play vs. Buccaneers

Oct 22, 2008 - 5:23 AM IRVING, Texas (Ticker) -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has eliminated any suspense surrounding his playing status.

Romo appeared as a special guest on teammate Terrell Owens' weekly radio show on Tuesday and said that Brad Johnson will make a second straight start against Tampa Bay unless, "something different happens that we don't foresee."

Speaking on "Inside the Huddle," (KLII-FM 105.3) Romo also indicated that he may not return until after the Cowboys' Week 10 bye.

That is in line with the original prognosis, which was two-to-four weeks. Romo, who has thrown for 1,689 yards and 14 touchdowns, suffered a broken pinkie on throwing hand after being sacked on the first play of overtime in a 30-24 loss to Arizona on October 12.

The Pro Bowl quarterback threw with a splint on Thursday, and attempted to play against St. Louis on Sunday, but told coaches he wasn't ready after going through pre-game warmups. Romo could only watch as Johnson threw three interceptions in a stunning 34-14 loss to the Rams.

"What I couldn't do was I couldn't grab the ball and throw it," Romo said. "(If) all of a sudden they want to blitz us or do something in that manner, I would never have been able to combat that because I wasn't physically able to get my fingers on the ball in a position to throw it.

"It was disappointing for me, but at the same point, it was a tough outing for everybody last game."

The Cowboys (4-3) have lost three of four and need a better performance from the 40-year-old Johnson, who led the Buccaneers (5-2) to a title in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Romo said it's best if he allows the injury to fully heal.

"It'll be very difficult to change because it took a long time to come up with what the trainers did, and it was awesome what they did.

"We're going to go back to the drawing board and see if we can come up with something, but it is what it is. Right now, we're going to rally around Brad and hopefully we can get two wins out of this and go into the bye and get everyone healthy and go from there."