Tony Romo consistently struggles to finish a season healthy, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is confident the veteran quarterback will captain the offense for years to come.

Romo broke his collarbone twice in 2015 as the Cowboys ended the NFL season 4-12.

The 35-year-old is reportedly set to have a protective plate surgically implanted to strength his left collarbone.

And while Romo appears battered and bruised, he remains integral to the Cowboys' plans.

"I'm planning on Romo being the quarterback for the next four or five years," Jones told reporters when asked about his draft preparations. "That's a fact.

"You won't see a decision on draft day that will fly in the face of not believing from our standpoint that he'll be our quarterback for four or five years."

The Cowboys hold the fourth overall pick in April's NFL Draft, and many believe now is the time for Dallas to develop a young QB to take over for Romo when the time comes. 

California's Jared Goff, North Dakota State's Carson Wentz and Memphis' Paxton Lynch could all very well be on the board when the Cowboys are on the clock.

Considering Romo's age, injury history and the fact he plans to have a plate surgically implanted in his troublesome shoulder, the lure of a top-flight young arm may be too enticing for Jones to ignore.

"I couldn't tell you today at all how we might make the decision," Jones said.

"This is one of those that might not be made until we're down to the last 10 seconds on the clock."

It is hard to predict of any those three guys will become franchise players, but Cowboys fans certainly do not want to sit through another 4-12 season with Romo on the sidelines and a carousel of sub-par backups under centre.

There has also been rumblings that Dallas could be in play for Robert Griffin III to add protection behind Romo.