NFC Notes: Romo, Vaccaro, Vikings

Quarterback Tony Romo is unlikely to be in uniform when the Cowboys face the Steelers on Sunday, but when he does return from a back injury, it seems probable he’ll serve as rookie standout Dak Prescott‘s backup. If that happens, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones expects Romo to accept the role with grace. “Any athlete who’s played a sport they want to contribute and certainly he does,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday (via Max Meyer of NFL.com). “At the same time Tony’s the consummate team player and I think if it meant as part of the process with Tony going into games as a backup then, I don’t want to speak for him, but my guess would be that he would.” The answer will come soon enough, as the four-time Pro Bowler practiced in full this week. If Romo isn’t active Sunday (he’s currently questionable), he should be back for the Cowboys’ Week 11 matchup against Baltimore.

More from the NFC:

• The Vikings were auditioning kickers and pondering a move away from Blair Walsh, but it seems like he has gotten back on track in recent days. “I knew how he would react,” special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling). “It kind of lit a fire under him. He got ticked off in a good way, I think, because he’s a competitive young man. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job, that’s the way you want him to react. If he didn’t react that way, I would be really worried, and we probably would be looking for another guy. He got — I don’t want to say angry, but he got a little fired up in a very respectful way, just like he always is. I expect him to go out and kick well for us this weekend and the rest of the year.”
• Saints head coach Sean Payton and safety Kenny Vaccaro aren’t pleased with the way they learned of Vaccaro’s pending four-game suspension for Adderall on Thursday, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. Payton had no advance notice of the suspension, only finding out via media reports, while Vaccaro didn’t know punishment was definitely coming. He did receive a vague notification beforehand, though. “We got a letter, but that’s just a preliminary letter that it could be a possible something,” Vaccaro said. “But, there have been mistakes before.” Vaccaro and the Saints are now awaiting the results of a second sample, which he told Katzenstein hasn’t yet been tested, and is unsure when his potential suspension would begin. In the meantime, he’ll play Sunday against Denver.
• Vikings quarterbacks coach Scott Turner, son of ex-offensive coordinator Norv Turner, told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press on Friday that his father’s Nov. 2 resignation came as a surprise. “I knew that he was dealing with some issues, or whatever,” he said. “I thought that it was a possibility. I didn’t ever think he was actually going to do it, and then he told me about one minute before he told Mike Zimmer.” Scott Turner added that he’s unsure if his father will coach again. Norv Turner has been an NFL coach in every season since 1985, including head coaching stints with the Redskins, Raiders and Chargers.

Zach Links contributed to this post.