Denial, followed by despair. Then, curious excitement surrounding the possibilities offered by backup Dak Prescott.
Cliff Avril -- the man responsible for the hit that fractured Romo's back -- received plenty of heat via Twitter, and made sure to reach out to Romo to let him know it wasn't intentional. Romo's response?
We'll make amends in January.
"You take care of the NFC West, we will see y'all in the playoffs," Romo texted to Avril, the defensive end told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Avril's hit, which came as Romo was attempting to slide on the Cowboys' third play of their third preseason game, resulted in an awkward landing and a broken vetebra for Romo. It inserted Prescott into the game, and into the Cowboys' immediate future. Romo, meanwhile, is left to get better, with hopes that his teammates can get off to a strong start for whenever he returns to retake the reins.
Avril? He's just glad the tough guys behind keyboards have let up.
"It finally died down the last day or two but it was a good six straight days," Avril said. "I got a couple of hundred mentions, people talking reckless. If they see me in the street they are going to fight me. A bunch of Twitter thugs.
"It was a football play. I was trying to get the ball out. It was a freak accident. I didn't think it was that crazy. It was an unfortunate situation. As pros we respect each other, we are not trying to hurt each other and put you out."
