Romo texts Avril 'See you in the playoffs' after hit that injured him

Tony Romo won't hold a grudge against Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril after the defender's hit left the Dallas Cowboys quarterback with a fractured vertebrae.

Romo exchanged a pleasant and optimistic text with Avril, saying he expects to see the Seahawks in the playoffs after he returns in 8-10 weeks, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The hit on Romo wasn't dirty, with Avril chasing down the oft-injured quarterback as he scrambled during the second week of preseason games. Still, Avril was apologetic after finding out Romo would miss a significant chunk of the regular season for the second consecutive year.

"I hit him up to see how he was doing and to let him know it wasn't intentional," Avril said Friday. "He hit me back saying it was football and it was a freak accident. He started joking and saying 'You take care of the NFC West and we will see you in the playoffs.'"

In the aftermath of the devastating news for Cowboys fans, many harassed Avril on Twitter, but the veteran handled the backlash calmly.

"It finally died down the last day or two but it was a good six straight days," Avril said. "I got a couple of hundred mentions, people talking reckless. If they see me in the street they are going to fight me. A bunch of Twitter thugs. ...

"It was a football play. I was trying to get the ball out. It was a freak accident. I didn't think it was that crazy. It was an unfortunate situation. As pros we respect each other, we are not trying to hurt each other and put you out."