Ed Werder says the Cowboys are still leaning toward giving QB Tony Romo the starting job when he returns from injury, despite QB Dak Prescott's admirable play in Romo's absence. (1:11)

FRISCO, Texas -- Six weeks ago today, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered a compression fracture in his back on a hit from Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril.

At the time of the injury, sources said Romo would need six to 10 weeks to recover before he could play again.

So what is Romo doing?

He had an MRI last week that showed encouraging signs. He has been out of what owner and general manager Jerry Jones called the "danger zone" for 2-3 weeks now, and has started to increase his strength and conditioning work. He has thrown passes in pregame for the past three weeks, but he has also thrown passes during the week between his workouts.

"The plan for him is just to continue to progress in his rehab," coach Jason Garrett said. "A lot of his rehab is off the field, it’s doing work for his back. It’s in the training room. It’s with the strength coaches. The next step for him is to throw the ball. He’s thrown it a little bit this week already. He’ll continue to do that."

It is looking as if Romo could be ready to return for Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium. Had the Cowboys put Romo on injured reserve in the first week of the season, he would not have been allowed to return until the Nov. 6 game in Cleveland.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said two weeks ago that there is a chance Romo could practice for a week or two and not play, which would allow him more time to build up strength in his back and aid his conditioning.

As Romo returned from his broken collarbone last season, he worked into practice for two weeks before playing against Miami. Though the collarbone might have been healthy, Romo’s timing was off. The Cowboys, however, needed him to play, because they were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak without him.

This season, the Cowboys are 3-1 and Dak Prescott is one of three starting quarterbacks without a turnover this season. The Cowboys can choose to be a little more patient with Romo's return if they want.

Though most outside the organization want to point to an impending debate as to whether Romo or Prescott should be the starting quarterback, Garrett is focused on Romo’s health.

"Like with all our players, when you do work, the biggest thing is how do you respond to the work? How does he feel the day afterwards?" Garrett said. "You make those adjustments as you go."