(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Tony Romo may no longer be on the Dallas Cowboys, but his heart remains with the team he suited up for throughout his entire career. And when a former teammate in center Travis Frederick got diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Romo immediately reached out, as Jori Epstein of SportsDay revealed.
And what Romo said to Frederick, who hasn’t missed a single down since joining the Cowboys, is what you’d expect from a player who’s never lacked class.
“I’ve texted with Travis, told him I was praying for him and always rooting for him – that he’s going to fight this and I know he’s going to be all right,” Tony Romo told SportsDay by phone Tuesday. “Things happen sometimes in life. You have to deal with it, have to attack it, and no one’s going to work harder to get back in play.
“But I told him I want him to be smart and safe, take his time.”
Romo and Frederick played four seasons together, although the final two featured the quarterback sidelined due to injury, or dressing as the backup for all but five games. The 27-year-old was Romo’s center from the start of the 2013 season when the Cowboys selected him with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Romo played in 15 games during both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, with Frederick starting every week.
If anyone understands how hard it can be watching your teammates from the sidelines, it’s the long-time Cowboys signal caller. Romo missed 27 of the final 32 games of his career due to injuries. Eventually, one of the best quarterbacks in franchise history lost his job to Dak Prescott following a 2016 preseason back injury.
As for Frederick, his timeline for a return is unknown, but the rare autoimmune disorder will almost certainly sideline him for the start of the 2018 NFL regular season. Of course, the young center’s health is the most important thing, and the team has made sure that’s the primary focus.
Frederick has seemingly remained as positive as one could realistically expect from a player facing this, and hopefully will return to action sooner than later.