Tony Romo plans offseason workouts

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PHILADELPHIA -- Tony Romo cannot wait for the offseason to begin, and the Dallas Cowboys quarterback is ready to run his own football camp with his teammates if needed.

He also is hoping to continue working with Jason Garrett.

If the NFL and the NFL Players Association cannot come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement and players are locked out from work, Romo plans to get the offensive players together in the offseason.

"We'll get all of the receivers and tight ends and running backs together," Romo said after Sunday's 14-13 win against the Philadelphia Eagles. "It'll get to where if the CBA doesn't get done we'll still have a jumpstart. You can't let the offseason go to waste. It's too important.

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"This team has an upside coming forward and I think we need to take advantage of that. I'll get with the guys and tell them the importance of it and we'll get them going and make them get out there. It'll be fun."

Romo also said he wants Garrett to be the Cowboys' next head coach. The two have developed a close relationship since Garrett become the offensive coordinator in 2007.

"I know Jason has my full support," Romo said. "I think he's been great and he continued to show things can get done. It's easy to look at wins and losses but it's bigger than that. It's about coming in and putting your stamp on the team and getting things done a certain way. Jason has an approach that he wants to see, and he's done a really god job of that."

Romo didn't have a chance to play while Garrett was running the Cowboys this season. Garrett became interim head coach when Wade Phillips was fired two weeks after Romo suffered a broken left collarbone.

Romo's 2010 season lasted only six games because of the injury Oct. 25 against the New York Giants. The Cowboys waited as long as they could before placing him on injured reserve on Dec. 21.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones had hoped for a possible Christmas return against Arizona, but Romo said this week was the first time he threw without pain.

Romo said the bone has "pretty much" healed and he might have been able to play Sunday had he been active, but he will be around Valley Ranch this week for more rehab work.

"If push came to shove and I wouldn't have been on IR, this would've been a difficult decision," Romo said. "I would've pushed to play, but obviously being on IR we couldn't do that. I thought I got back to being pretty healthy this week. It would've been close."

In his six starts, Romo threw for 1,605 yards with 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He was sacked seven times and had a 94.9 passer rating.

Romo said he learned while having to watch Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee play in his absence. He wore a headset during games, listening to the offensive and defensive coaches.

"They'll be things I'll use that will help me in advancement of the game and understanding what defenses are trying to do or what they're really coaching the players up to do," Romo said. "Things like that I think will be beneficial for me down the road."

Last week Jones said he believed the Cowboys could be a playoff contender in 2011, despite the struggles in 2010, in large part because of Romo's return but also because how teams out of it one year can rebound the next.

"I absolutely agree with him," Romo said. "Our ambitions and our goal won't change. I can promise you we're going to have a much improved season next year. Record-wise, we'll be a better football team."

Todd Archer covers the Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com. You can follow him on Twitter or leave a question for his mailbag.

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Todd Archer

ESPNDallas.com

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Todd Archer joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2010. He's covered the NFL since 1997 and the Cowboys since 2003. He covered the Bengals and Dolphins before arriving in Dallas. A Massachusetts native, Archer lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two children.