Cowboys list Tony Romo as probable against Jaguars

When the Dallas Cowboys cleared a first-class seat for Tony Romo on the team's charter flight to London this week, it wasn't because they were planning for Romo to watch Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars from the sidelines of Wembley Stadium.

And indeed, it seems Romo won't be.

The Cowboys have listed Romo as probable on their final injury report of the week after he was able to participate — albeit in a limited fashion — on Thursday and Friday. Romo was unable to practice last week after suffering two small fractures and bruising in his back after a hit in an Oct. 27 game against the Washington Redskins. Romo did not play in the Cowboys' loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week.

With a bye next week, the Cowboys could have kept Romo on the bench for another week, giving him even more time for his back to recover in time for a schedule that is back-loaded with NFC East games, including two matchups with the Philadelphia Eagles.

But after back-to-back losses, the Cowboys decided they need Romo now.

"He looked pretty comfortable to me," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, who spoke before Friday's practice, said of Thursday's session. "Clearly, he wanted to get the blood flowing through his body and get his movement back both in the pocket and also throwing the football, and he had a pretty good day yesterday."

Romo's injury is unrelated to a herniated disk last year or to offseason surgery to remove a cyst earlier in 2013.

The quarterback said Thursday he was still a little sore, but called it "normal stuff," and said his back loosened up during practice.

Garrett, however, still hasn't made a decision on who will start on Sunday.

"We'll take today, we'll see how he feels after yesterday's work," Garrett said, "and hopefully he can practice the way we need him to practice today and just take it right up until game time."

The Cowboys have played overseas nine times in their history, including twice in London. But this is the first time they'll be playing a regular-season game outside the United States.

Most of the teams that have made the journey to London over the years have praised the team-building aspect of such a long trip to a foreign country, and some have taken the time to catch some of the local sights.

Dallas plans to do a little of both on Friday.

"We're going to go to the Tower of London and see the Crown Jewels," Garrett said, "and I think the players are excited to do it."

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones