IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is eyeing a mid-June return to the practice field for the team's minicamp after undergoing a minor procedure to remove a cyst on his back last month.
"I feel a lot better," Romo said Tuesday. "It was something that was there a little bit, kind of annoying. I'd rather feel 100 percent here. Hopefully I'll be back for minicamp and be ready to go, but we're just being smart now for the next couple of weeks."
Romo will not take part in the organized team activities that started on Tuesday and will run the next three weeks. The Cowboys' minicamp is June 11-13.
Romo said his back was bothering him in early April, which led to the procedure in the middle of the month. He was not aware how big the cyst was but said it was not cancerous.
He said he has not been doing any sprinting in his rehab yet, but has worked on the stationary bike and elliptical machines as well as some weight lifting.
The Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, Calif., on July 19. Romo said he would get enough work in between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp.
"You've just got to be smart about it through the process," Romo said. "I tell them I feel good. They tell me to wait another couple of weeks and we'll be good to go."
Romo, who turned 33 last month, has always been active in the offseason but cut back on his golf at least in part because of larger involvement with the installation of the offense on previous years.
Romo signed a six-year extension in March worth $108 million, including $55 million guaranteed.
Romo is expecting a more substantial role in developing the team's weekly game plans this season.
"We were 8-8 the last couple of seasons and that doesn't sit well with me," Romo said. "I don't think I'm an 8-8 quarterback and I don't think this organization is comfortable being 8-8 so we're going to do everything possible as coaches and players in this building to change that. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen again. That just sits there and eats at you.''
Romo also anticipates being in coaching meetings at the beginning of each week, even when his teammates are enjoying a day off.
"The older you get you might have a little more voice with the coaches. I think that part of it just ends up taking shape," Romo said.
In the past Romo has used the offseason to tinker with his mechanics, from altering his footwork to how he holds the ball. He has used the OTAs and minicamp as a test for how the changes would hold up under pressure and if he would continue with the changes.
"I'd been able to get a bunch of work done earlier and had some things I'm pretty excited about from a technical aspect," Romo said. "That's always exciting for me. That will be the same way as I go forward. Obviously I want to get the work in this week and next week with the OTAs, but when I practice on my own I practice at the same exact tempo as I do in a game."
With Romo on the sideline, Kyle Orton will work with the first-team offense. Signed as a free agent last year, Orton saw action in only one game for the Cowboys.
Quarterbacks Nick Stephens and undrafted rookie Dalton Williams will receive more work in Romo's absence.
ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder contributed to this report.