Tony Romo Reveals He's Been Playing with a Broken Rib

Following the Dallas Cowboys' victory over the Chicago Bears, Tony Romo revealed that he's been playing with a rib injury.

While originally revealed as a broken rib, it's actually damage to the quarterback's cartilage.

Continue for updates.

Monday, Dec. 8

Romo Elaborates on Rib Injury

Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News provided more details from Tony Romo on his nagging rib injury:

Friday, Dec. 5

Romo Reveals Rib Injury

Tony Romo rebounded from a poor performance last week to help lead the Dallas Cowboys past the Chicago Bears 41-28 on Thursday night. Making the 21-of-26 passing, 205-yard, three-touchdown outing even more impressive is the revelation he's dealing with a broken rib.

Most of the injury concern around the 34-year-old throughout the season has related to his back, which required offseason surgery. But now Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes the rib issue has been an obstacle for around two months. 

According to Archer, "Romo said he was not sure in which game he suffered the injury, either Sept. 21 against the St. Louis Rams or Oct. 5 against the New Orleans Saints." Romo added, "It'll be nice when it's just about the back [surgery] instead of all the other junk."

Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News claims Romo misspoke during the press conference, and that he is actually dealing with a different injury:

"

Romo said he had a fractured rib, but a source said Friday that the quarterback misspoke. Romo actually has torn rib cartilage, the source said, and not a break. The injury isn’t considered serious and hasn’t bothered Romo much of late.

"

ESPN's Calvin Watkins reports more on the issue:

Now, according to Pro Football Talk, Romo is the subject of an NFL investigation into whether the Cowboys violated league injury policy by not reporting the ailment when it occurred:

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The report also mentions he previously dealt with rib injuries in both 2008 and 2011.

Romo has played a major role in helping Dallas put up a 9-4 record. The team's strategy to feature DeMarco Murray more prominently has opened up passing lanes for Romo, who's responded with 2,923 yards, 25 touchdowns and just eight interceptions this season.

Of course, one bad game is all it takes to change the narrative when you're the quarterback of the Cowboys. So when he tossed two picks in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week, questions were raised about whether he was heading for a late-season meltdown.

Romo quieted the critics Thursday night. It's fair to wonder how the injuries may factor in as the season enters crunch time, though. A balky back and a broken rib are bothersome enough on their own, but together they have to seriously test Romo's pain tolerance.

The Cowboys just have to hope he maintains his current level of play, which has been good enough to move them into contention.