IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys' offseason is over, officially anyway. But for Tony Romo it really isn’t over.
He might take a week off to rest up after going through captains' practices in early April, the conditioning work in mid-April, the on-field teaching sessions, the organized team activities and the three-day minicamp that came to an end Thursday.
Even though he had surgery in March on a left collarbone that was broken twice in 2015, Romo did not miss a day of practice in the offseason.
“We’re out here just trying to get better every day,” Romo said. “I feel as though I did that, but it’s just a step. I need to continue to take the steps.”
The questions around Romo these days are not about his ability to lead the Cowboys or his decision-making. It’s health, especially now that he’s 36 years old. He had two back surgeries in 2013. He suffered two transverse process fractures in 2014 that forced him to miss a game. He missed 12 games in 2015 with the collarbone injuries.
But the time off last year allowed Romo to focus more on his conditioning as the Cowboys struggled to a 4-12 finish and early into the offseason. His back is as strong as it has felt in years. He viewed the collarbone breaks as an aberration, and there were no ill effects during the offseason.
On Tuesday, Romo was sharp with a touchdown pass to Cole Beasley on a double move down the sideline. He hit Terrance Williams in the corner of the end zone with Brandon Carr in tight coverage. On Thursday, he was surgical with a back-line throw to Beasley for a score. He hit Williams for another score after a defensive breakdown. He allowed Ezekiel Elliott to use his speed to break free for a score.
He even scrambled free for a short touchdown run, spiking the ball for emphasis.
“Just in his movement, he looks more athletic than he has in the last couple of years,” quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said. “I think that part of that is his back issues and the rehab from that. He’s bringing a lot of energy as well. Those are all good, positive things for our team.”
Next week, Romo will host a camp in his hometown of Burlington, Wisconsin. He said he and Dez Bryant have plans to work out between now and training camp to get up to speed as the wide receiver has been limited because of a January foot surgery.
The Cowboys won’t get on a plane for Oxnard, California, and training camp until late July, but Romo plans on remaining busy.
"Well, some of the mechanical things that I work on very hard, I’ll throw and continue to do,” Romo said. “I’m throwing the ball as well as I ever have. I think a lot of that is just based on years of trying to perfect your craft and get to a point where you feel very confident from multiple launch angles throwing the football with people around your feet, in front of you, you can’t step into it, you can, sliding left, having to move a little to the right, throwing across yourself, throwing out in front, drag routes, people who are stationary. There’s a lot of little things that come up from the quarterback position as far as the angle and launch point of the release. I feel like that’s a big thing I’ve been working on, was a certain technique to that.
“Now that I feel like I’ve been able to accomplish doing it every day, it’s been a few years of trying it. I feel like now this offseason when I wake up, it’s there every day. That’s pretty exciting. … If it keeps going the way it is, we’ll go into camp feeling great.”
And if Romo feels great, as he did for most of the 2014 season, the Cowboys know they will have a chance in 2016.
“He's so diligent in everything he does,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “No one wants to be a champion more than him.”