Tony Romo lies on the turf after being injured in the first quarter during a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on August 25, 2016, in Seattle. (Getty Images)

Excusing himself, Romo slipped away and spent the next 15 minutes on the phone pumping up and offering advice to Dak Prescott, the rookie fourth-round draft pick who’d be thrust into the starting role as a result of Romo’s latest setback.

While the gesture spoke volumes about Romo’s leadership, the phone call was no doubt difficult to make.

Broken collarbones, ribs and a pinkie finger. A herniated disc, a punctured lung and a bad back. Romo has dealt with countless injuries throughout his 14-year NFL career. But this one may have been the most deflating of all.

It came, friends say, when Romo felt he finally had everything in front of him.

It came when Romo—with just two playoff wins to go along with his Hall of Fame stats—sensed he was on the cusp of something special.

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Tony Romo watches from the sideline against the New England Patriots during a game at AT&T Stadium on October 11, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images)

Six days before his injury in Seattle, a beaming Tony Romo strutted out of the Cowboys locker room and hopped into the passenger seat of a friend’s SUV in the bowels of AT&T Stadium. Earlier that night, he played a nearly flawless two drives in the first half of his preseason debut against Miami. It was a significant step for Romo, who missed 12 games the previous season with a broken collarbone. His voice booming with energy, Romo couldn’t get over how good he felt on the field.

“My body has finally caught up to my mind,” he told his close friend and college roommate, Tommy Brewer. “I can’t wait for the real season. I can’t wait for people to see what I can do.”

For Romo, a triumphant comeback in 2016 would’ve added another chapter to one of the most fascinating stories in Cowboys history.

Long before he became one of the most well-known faces in Dallas—if not the entire league—Romo was an undrafted free agent from Eastern Illinois who spent his first three NFL seasons as a Cowboys backup.

Tony Romo throws the ball against the Miami Dolphins during a preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 19, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images)

He lived with Sekeres and Brewer in a three-bedroom apartment in the Dallas suburb of Addison, where dinner often meant a trip to the food court at the Galleria mall.

Life quickly changed for Romo in 2006, when he replaced starter Drew Bledsoe and led the Cowboys to the playoffs. All of a sudden, a guy who went unrecognized while shopping for gifts at the Cowboys Pro Shop had to request private tables at restaurants. “Romo-Mania” and “Ro-Momentum” became popular slogans around town, and fans half-jokingly added his name to the Cowboys Ring of Honor before a game.

“It was all so sudden,” Romo’s father, Ramiro, said. “Whether it was on the field or off, everything he did became magnified 100 percent.”

The attention was often positive, as stories surfaced of Romo taking a homeless man to a movie and helping push cars out of ditches during the ice storm that hit Dallas a few days before it hosted Super Bowl XLV.

"For a long time, Tony Romo was an incredibly polarizing figure in this city."

— NORM HITZGES, DALLAS RADIO PERSONALITY

Other times, though, Romo drew the ire of fans, whether because of his failure to win playoff games or for issues involving his personal life.

That included a two-year courtship with singer Jessica Simpson that began in 2007, when paparazzi once chased the couple through the streets of Dallas as they drove to church. And Romo was blasted for jetting off to Cabo San Lucas with Simpson and a few teammates during a bye week before a 2008 playoff game he’d end up losing.

The simple act of wearing his cap backward on the sideline was irksome enough for some to call in to Dallas radio stations and question whether Romo—who has led the most fourth-quarter comeback wins in Cowboys history—was the right guy for the job.

“For a long time, Tony Romo was an incredibly polarizing figure in this city,” said Norm Hitzges, a veteran Dallas radio personality on 1310 The Ticket. “I can’t think of another position in the NFL where the spotlight is as bright as it is on the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

“People really loved him, or they were really against him. There was no in between.”

Those close to Romo were impressed with his levelheadedness while operating under the intense glare that comes with his position.

“I think the thing that bothered him the most was when people questioned his commitment to football,” Brewer, the friend and former roommate, said. “He never told me it hurt his feelings, but I can see how something like that would. That’s something people should never question.”

Romo’s dedication is evident each offseason, when he spends time around coaching legends such as Mike Krzyzewski and Larry Brown to pick up pointers on motivation and leadership. It’s obvious every Thursday during the fall, when Romo takes a handful of offensive starters to dinner at various ritzy Dallas steakhouses to build camaraderie.

Tony Romo is led to the sidelines by team officials after being sacked at AT&T Stadium on November 26, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images)

And in recent years, it’s been visible on plane trips both to and from road games. Fearing his chronic bad back will “stiffen up” while seated, Romo—who once played a game with a broken rib and a punctured lung—often stands throughout the entirety of each flight.

Uncomfortable as it was, Romo played through the back pain and enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2014, when he led Dallas to a 12-4 record and the NFC East title. But just when they seemed poised to make a run at the Super Bowl, Romo and the Cowboys lost at Green Bay in the divisional round.

Before he boarded the team bus after that loss, Romo huddled with friends and family members, some of whom were weeping.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll get our opportunity. Our time will come.”

Romo hoped that opportunity would be this year. After missing most of last season with a broken collarbone—the Cowboys were just 1-11 without him—he entered training camp feeling healthier than ever. His back pain was gone, he said, and he felt his time on the sidelines in 2015 enabled him to enhance his mental game.

“He believes this team is good enough to win a Super Bowl,” Brewer said on August 20. “The competitor in him will never be satisfied unless he ultimately wins one. Fair or not, that’s how quarterbacks are judged.

“He’s satisfied with the work he’s put in. But he’s not satisfied with the results.”

Five days later, Brewer, Sekeres and others watched from home as trainers tended to Romo in Seattle following the hit from Avril. Their concern died down a bit after Romo returned to the sideline and appeared to be begging to re-enter the game.

Later that night, before boarding the flight home to Dallas, Romo called his father.

“Don’t worry, Dad,” Romo said. “I’m fine.”

He hasn’t taken a snap since.

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