Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has offered a glimpse into the physical price he pays long after his final snap. What stood out was not frustration or bitterness, but how normalised the struggle has become inside his household.
“Oh, it’s chronic. I mean, I’ve had two back surgeries,” Tony Romo told The Pat McAfee Show. “Every day, my wife and the kids know it’s like, all right, just give me 34 minutes while I do some glute exercise and some core work, and I should be ready to go.”
Those 34 minutes are not optional. Tony Romo explained that without that daily work, even routine family moments become difficult. The preparation is simply part of life now, a quiet reminder that the damage from football does not disappear once the helmet comes off.
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The injuries that followed Romo beyond his playing days
Tony Romo‘s back problems began well before the end of his career. In 2013, he underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his spine, a procedure initially described as minor.
Still, it cost him the entire offseason programme, including training camp and organised team activities, setting the tone for a season defined by discomfort.
Later that year, he exited a game against Washington with back pain, returned to engineer a dramatic comeback, and was then diagnosed with a herniated disc that ended his season. Another surgery followed in December, turning what once felt manageable into a long-term concern.
The next season only deepened the issue. In 2014, Tony Romo fractured two transverse processes in his back during another game against Washington. He continued playing through the injury, delivering one of the best seasons of his career and leading Dallas to a 12-4 record. The success, however, came at a cost his body would never fully escape.
By 2015, the accumulation of injuries caught up with him. A preseason back fracture, combined with repeated collarbone injuries, limited Romo to just four appearances. Even then, the decision to step away did not come easily.
Romo admitted that playing well despite injury can make retirement feel impossible. He pointed to Matthew Stafford as a recent example of how elite performance can outweigh physical warning signs in a player’s mind.
“Think about Stafford this year,” Romo said. “That might be the only reason why he might not come back, if you look closely.”
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