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Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo continues to recover from a compression fracture in his spine. He’s sufficiently recovered that, per a source with knowledge of the situation, he has been throwing the ball with zip and working out aggressively in preparation for his return.

The current target for his return, according to the source, is Week Eight against the Eagles or Week Nine at Cleveland.

The belief continues to be that, when he’s healthy, Romo will play. That doesn’t mean healthy in the air-quotes sense, where the team’s doctors decide Romo’s not “100 percent” until Dak Prescott cools off. The Cowboys intend to use Romo when he’s cleared to play, because they continue to believe he gives them the best chance to win.

The better news for the Cowboys is that they also believe they’ve finally found someone to whom the baton can be passed, eventually. While that may lead to an awkward handoff at some point down the road, the team can take some solace in the notion that there won’t be a vacuum at the position after Romo retires.