Jerry Jones may have reached his breaking point when defending his franchise quarterback.

The Cowboys are an absolute mess at 3-8 and lost Tony Romo for the year to his second collarbone injury of the season. Romo, 35, was limited to just four games this season and he'll watch the rest of the campaign play out on the sidelines.

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Jones laid out the blueprint for what the Cowboys plan to do within the next five years at the most important position in the NFL. While he believes Dallas could draft a quarterback, the owner and general manager also thinks Romo has at least five years left in him under center.

"If you look at his playing time -- he started late -- he has excellent skills relative to where his skill set began," Jones said on his weekly radio spot on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, according to the New York Post. "More important than anything, from a mental standpoint he's at the top of the list."

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The Cowboys have made the playoffs just once in the last five years, losing in the divisional round last postseason to the Packers. At 3-8, they're still technically alive in a division led by the Redskins (5-6), but with Romo absent, it appears to be a long shot that Dallas makes it two straight years playing far into January.

When one of the hosts on the radio show began to badger Jones a bit about Romo's ability to lead the team in the future and help it reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995, Jones had enough.

"This is not a damn debate we are having here," he said. "You know that I don't know if he has four to five years. You're asking me what I think, and I think we have an outstanding quarterback for the next four to five years. That's not a downer. Will we be looking to develop talent behind Romo? Absolutely."

Considering the quarterback's history for injuries and the Cowboys recent run of futility, Jones may want to start the development now.

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