FRISCO, Texas -- Soon, if not today, Tony Romo will be able to practice for the first time since suffering a compression fracture in his back on Aug. 25.

The CT scans and other testing continue to show nothing but positives for the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback. He has increased his rehab work in the past two weeks, including resistance training, and he has been throwing with more velocity.

“We’re getting closer,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “I don’t know the exact time, but we’re getting closer with him. I know that.”

Eventually, the Cowboys will have to decide whether they make Romo the starter or continue with rookie Dak Prescott, who has helped them to a 5-1 start.

What started as almost a humorous what-if at the start of the season -- based on how well Prescott played in the preseason -- has become the most important issue Jason Garrett must sort through in his tenure as Cowboys coach.

Garrett has given the subject a stiff-arm when pressed about it during the past few weeks. Until Romo is healthy and cleared, they don’t need to have an answer.

The Cowboys have faced such quandaries before.

In 1972, Roger Staubach suffered a separated shoulder in the preseason that forced Craig Morton into the starting lineup. Coach Tom Landry stuck with Morton, even when Staubach became healthy. Staubach had led the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl win the previous season.

In 1991, Troy Aikman suffered a sprained MCL during the game in which the Cowboys ended the Washington Redskins’ run at a perfect season. Steve Beuerlein went 4-0 as Aikman’s replacement, and coach Jimmy Johnson went with Beuerlein in the playoffs, even though Aikman was healthy enough to play in the postseason.

“You’ve got to make the decision based on what you believe,” Aikman said. “When you say, ‘We’re going to do what’s best for the team,’ then you’ve got to do what’s best for the team. If you as a coach believe somebody else gives you a better opportunity, then I think you make that move.”

Aikman was upset with Johnson in 1991. Aikman was told he would be the starter once healthy and was held out of the regular-season finale because the Cowboys’ seeding was solidified. But Aikman was especially upset when Johnson told the media before telling him that Beuerlein would start the playoff game.

In Beuerlein's four-game run as the starter, he completed 65 of 132 passes for 883 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Good, not great, numbers. What really changed for the Cowboys: the emphasis on Emmitt Smith. In their first 11 games in 1991, he had only one game with at least 25 carries. In the final five, he carried it at least 25 times in every game.

“When it’s you, when it’s happening to you, your perspective on it is really different, and I wouldn’t expect Tony or anyone else to feel different than I felt as far as wanting to be out there playing and feeling like you were the best option,” Aikman said. “But it didn’t take [until] now to realize Jimmy probably did the right thing for the team.”

Forty-four years later, Landry’s decision to roll with Morton seems curious at best. Morton threw at least one interception in 12 of 14 games. He finished with 21 on the season with 15 touchdown passes.

But what mattered most was the Cowboys' record. They finished 10-4.

“Craig was winning,” said Staubach, who saw limited action in four of the final five regular-season games. “We were winning as a team and I understood it. The momentum was there, you don’t want to mess around with the quarterback position, and Craig was playing very well. So I didn’t really play very much until the playoff game against the 49ers that year, and I understood it. I understood I was still a good player, and they’re still hopefully going to need me at some time. Tony’s going to heal, he’s going to be ready to play when they need him, if something happens to Dak, so I think Tony wants to win and he’ll do what it takes to win. If they keep Dak in there, if they keep the momentum going, I think [Romo] will understand that. He hasn’t told me that, by the way.”

In the divisional round of the 1972 playoffs, the Cowboys needed Staubach. With Dallas trailing in the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers, Staubach threw two touchdown passes in the final two minutes for one of the most improbable comebacks in his career.

Today, the quarterback debate rages outside the Cowboys' locker room, but there is no sign of friction within the team. Friends and family might ask the players about the situation, but there is little to no talk that could lead to a schism.

“We’re not really worried about that honestly,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “We just focus on now. We focus on going out there and winning every week and getting better as a team. To this team, it really doesn’t matter who is at quarterback. We have faith in our guys. Honestly, that’s not our decision anyway, so there’s no reason to worry about it.”

The decision falls on Garrett, Linehan, quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson, owner and general manager Jerry Jones, and executive vice president Stephen Jones.

Only the success of the season is on the line.

“You never know unless you go on and win the Super Bowl,” Aikman said. “You never quite know what the outcome otherwise would’ve been, but I certainly understand why Jimmy did what he did. The team had won five straight, and he wasn’t going to mess with that. So that’s kind of where I am. In this league, it’s hard to get that kind of momentum going within any club, and when you have it going, I think you better take a hard look before you start doing things that may jeopardize that.”