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Injuries cripple careers

Disclaimer: I’m a lifelong New York Giants fan.

Tony Romo needs to retire. For his own sake, I think it’s time for him to call it a career.

For most players, their worst fears post-career are brain related. With the rising awareness of CTE, more and more players are worried about their long-term mental health.

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) lays on the ground after a hit during the third quarter on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Richard W. Rodriguez/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)

Nobody knows how many concussions Romo has had in his lifetime. Maybe he doesn’t even know how many times his brain has rattled around after a hard hit, but this is about his back and neck.

Leading up to 2015, Romo had sustained several injuries to different parts of his back and neck. In the second week of the 2015 season, Romo took a hard hit and fractured his left collarbone.

Romo then missed seven weeks before getting back into the game. In his second game after the fractured collarbone, he re-broke his collarbone in the same spot, ending his season.

Now, in the third week of the 2016 preseason, an injury haunted his career yet again.

In some demented personal groundhog day for Romo, he has to deal with a compression fracture in his L1 vertebra. Now, Romo will most likely miss anywhere from 6-10 weeks.

This should be the end of Romo’s career. He’s already going down in history as one of the greatest undrafted players in the NFL.

I understand why he doesn’t want to retire — he wants to go out with a bang, not with the whimper of yet another surgery.

Staying in the NFC East is the quarterback drama in Philadelphia. At the end of last season, there was uncertainty over who would be the quarterback for the Eagles, and over the off-season, they did nothing to resolve those questions.

The Eagles signed career back-up Chase Daniel, re-signed a mediocre expensive starter in Sam Bradford and drafted North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz with the second pick in the draft.

Philadelphia has been trying to get rid of Bradford since Wentz was drafted, and their opportunity just popped up in Minnesota.

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Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short sacks Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford during first quarter action on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/TNS)

Vikings third-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — one of the best young arms in the game — had his knee effectively implode. The injury was a dislocated knee, a torn ACL and more structural damage.

It didn’t take long for the Vikings’ panic to become the Eagles’ gain.

It was highway robbery for Philadelphia after the Eagles gave the Vikings mediocre Bradford for the low price of only a first-round pick and a conditional fourth-rounder who could become a second-rounder depending on how well the Vikings do in the 2016-17 season.

Now with Bradford out of the picture, it’s all up to Wentz to be the Eagles’ starting quarterback. This is great news for the Cleveland Browns, who will take on the Eagles in the first game of the season and the owner of their first-round pick next season.

All in all — the Cowboys are in a worse spot heading into this season. Tony Romo should retire for his own sake, the Eagles have continued to botch the quarterback position and the Vikings, well, the Vikings just washed this season at the cost of a first-round draft pick.

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