Cowboys: Romo's injury not serious, won't affect Week 1 availability

Crisis averted.

After giving the Dallas Cowboys a bit of a scare upon leaving Thursday's preseason game with a back issue, all indications have been that Tony Romo avoided any sort of serious injury.

Head coach Jason Garrett said after the game that Romo quickly began to feel better as the initial shock of the awkward hit subsided.

"Initially I think he was in a little bit of shock," Garrett said, according to Todd Archer of ESPN. "He didn't feel real good. But once a little time went by, I think he was feeling better, better, and better. We don't think there is anything serious."

Jerry Jones later indicated Romo's availability for Week 1 isn't in question, effectively bringing an end to all such concerns. The longtime owner explained that Romo could have returned to action Thursday were the game of any importance, but he praised Garrett's decision to err on the side of caution.

"I just think, we, everyone had a scare," Jones said. "He was not hurt and he said he wasn't hurt. He wanted to go back in. He could have gone back in and played.

"But I praise Jason. It was his decision. After that, you couldn't afford for him to get hurt. You would've lost everybody had he walked back out there and gotten hurt, whether it was as a result of the first one or not. That was the smart thing to do for the team, for everybody involved here, is to call it a night for him. Certainly nothing at stake there."

A decision on whether Romo sees any snaps in next week's preseason finale will likely come down to the Cowboys' level of comfort with the limited reps he's seen through three games thus far.

As an established veteran, though, it would be no surprise to see the four-time Pro Bowler held out in the interest of ensuring he's at full strength for the opener.

Romo's health is imperative to Dallas' chances of getting back to the playoffs after a disastrous 2015 campaign in which he made just four starts.