Cowboys have no plans to move Tony Romo in off-season, Jerry Jones says

Tony Romo’s future in Dallas isn’t really a question in the mind of Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones.

Even though the 36-year-old quarterback has lost his starting job to rookie Dak Prescott, the idea of his moving on in the off-season is “not a consideration,” Jones said.

Two days after Romo conceded the No. 1 job to Prescott in what some viewed as a farewell speech, Jones said Thursday it was “not a goodbye.”

“I think Tony has got five years left of really competing for a Super Bowl,” Jones said. “I believe Tony will be the quarterback on a Super Bowl team. I believe that strongly. We’re talking generic now, and I have no plans for him not to be part of the Dallas Cowboys. Not a consideration.”

While Romo was sidelined by a back injury sustained in a preseason game, Prescott led Dallas to eight straight wins and the best record in the NFL at 8-1.

‘Conflict of interest’ for sideline doctors

Doctors who decide whether an NFL player is healthy enough to go into the game shouldn’t be paid by the teams that have a stake in winning and losing — an “undeniable conflict of interest.”

That’s what a report released on Thursday by Harvard University experts in medicine, law and ethics says.

The study by the NFL Players Assn.-funded Football Players Health Study also recommends a short-term injured reserve for athletes recovering from a concussion, much like the system that baseball adopted five years ago.

The 500-page report includes 76 recommendations addressed to 20 NFL stakeholders — everyone from players and teams to equipment manufacturers and government regulators. The biggest message: Player safety will never be the top priority as long as those involved have competing calls on their loyalty.

“So long as the club doctor is chosen, paid and reviewed by the club to both care for players and advise the club, the doctor will have, at a minimum, tacit pressures or subconscious desires to please the club by doing what is in the club’s best interests,” the report said.

“This is not a moral judgment about them as competent professionals or devoted individuals, but rather a simple fact of the current organizational structure of their position in which they simultaneously perform at least two roles that are not necessarily compatible.”

To resolve the conflict of interest, the report recommends that the league and the union contribute to a fund used to pay doctors assigned to teams.

The NFL said it was “disappointed that the report appeared to start with the premise that the health care system in the NFL suffers from an ‘inherent conflict of interest.’ ”

Etc.

Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey has aggravated a hip injury that forced him to miss the first four weeks of the season, raising doubts about his status for Sunday’s game in Los Angeles and beyond. Pouncey left practice Wednesday and sat out Thursday’s drills. The Dolphins are already without left tackle Branden Albert, sidelined by a dislocated left wrist. … Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith missed his second straight practice Thursday, leaving his status for Detroit in question. Smith’s brother was shot and killed in Valdosta, Ga., on Sunday. Smith traveled to Valdosta on Monday and has been there since. Adding to his emotional week, Smith’s girlfriend gave birth to their son Wednesday. ...

Tennessee left tackle Taylor Lewan has been fined $30,000 for making contact with an official during the Titans’ game against Green Bay and he plans to appeal. Lewan confirmed Thursday that he learned of the fine Wednesday. … Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio moved to the United States with his family when he was 4 years old. On Thursday, he became a U.S. citizen. Kouandjio was one of 34 individuals to receive U.S. citizenship at the U.S. District Courthouse in Buffalo Thursday morning. “I finally made it,” Kouandjio said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s been 19 years. It’s a good day.”