It looked serious when it happened, but the Dallas Cowboys didn't show a ton of concern. Quarterback Tony Romo went down awkwardly on a hit by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril in the first half of Thursday's preseason game. After Romo looked to be in a ton of pain, holding his lower back, he was later seen attempting to throw on the sideline.
Romo didn't return to the game, but there wasn't a ton of worry from Cowboys brass the day following what looked to be a serious injury,
Now, two days removed, the concern is real. Various reports on Saturday indicated that Romo did indeed break a bone in his back. He's now expected to miss the next 6-10 weeks with the injury.
In fact, other reports suggest that Romo could be dealing with the effects of the injury throughout the duration of the year.
With Romo now sidelined for the foreseeable future, Dallas' season hangs on the right shoulder of rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott. The former Mississippi State standout has been dominating through three preseason games, tallying seven touchdowns compared to zero interceptions while completing better than 75 percent of his passes.
Though, he's still a rookie. He's also viewed as a project. And with primary backup Kellen Moore lost for the season to a broken ankle, Prescott will be called on to start until Romo returns to the field.
From a team-wide perspective, this is some horrible news. Dallas boasted a 3-1 record with Romo under center. When he was sidelined to multiple collarbone injuries, the team went 1-11. Of course, there's a caveat here. The Cowboys backup quarterbacks included Matt Cassel and Brandon Weeden. Combined, the two threw seven touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions.
Even as a project, Prescott figures to be a much better option for the Cowboys as a rookie.
This brings us to the fantasy relevance of the article. Our major takeaway?
First off, BUY Ezekiel Elliott. The rookie running back absolutely dominated the college scene at Ohio State before being selected No. 4 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. He's seen as a generational prospect, and is already considered by us to be a top-five PPR running back in re-draft contests.
With him likely taking on a larger role, the expectation has to be that Elliott will dominate the fantasy football world. Something to the tune of 350-plus touches for 2,000-plus total yards isn't ridiculous. If so, he could very well finish as the top fantasy running back as a rookie.
As it relates to Prescott, the situation is interesting. Like we mentioned above, the rookie has dominated the preseason landscape. With the Cowboys dominant offensive line in front of him and a stud receiver in Dez Bryant to throw to, Prescott could be a surprise fantasy performer.
What to do?
Maybe pick Prescott up in the latter rounds of 12-team leagues while potentially checking in on the Romo situation through the first half of the season. Should it look like Romo will be returning, give up one of your deep bench options (maybe your QB2) to pick him up off the waiver wire before he's slated to return to the field. That would give you Prescott as a late-round starter until Romo (a waiver-wire add) returns.