SAN ANTONIO - Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is no doctor, but when starting wide receiver Roy Williams (wrist) and starting cornerback Terence Newman (groin) returned to practice on Monday, Phillips was proved right on two counts - Williams' injury was day-to-day and Newman returned as expected.
Neither player showed any signs of rust, Phillips said, and both are expected to play in Friday's preseason game against the Titans.
Williams missed Sunday's afternoon practice with wrist soreness after a collision with cornerback Orlando Scandrick at end of the morning session. X-rays were negative on his left wrist, although his timetable for return to the field was up in the air. Initially, he wasn't going to practice Monday, at least until he was told he'd be doing arduous rehab exercises instead.
"I didn't think I was going to go, and then I was going in for treatment, and they were like, 'Well, you're going to run cords with Britt (Brown), our trainer,'" Williams said. "And I said, 'No, I'm not! I'm going to go out there and practice.'"
Williams said his wrist still hurts, although it's improved since Sunday. It was put in a cast for him to sleep in, he said, but he took it off because it was too stiff. Besides, he wasn't going to let a little pain keep him from finishing training camp.
"My wrist still hurts, but I don't want to be the guy who doesn't practice because of this or that," Williams said. "I've come too far not to go through camp. We're almost done. Get it over with, get through the pain, catch the football, and do what I do."
Williams did take himself out of the final play during the two-minute drill, but he said it had nothing to do with his wrist and more to do with being winded after missing a full practice the day before.
Newman had been out since Aug. 1 with a slight groin strain, although on Saturday Phillips predicted he'd return when he did. Newman declined to speak with the media after practice, so Phillips did his talking for him.
"He didn't have any problems physically that I know of," Phillips said. "We'll go back and look at his techniques, but I saw him make a play and I didn't see anybody catch it on him, so I think he did pretty well."
Newman, returning to this starting corner spot opposite Mike Jenkins, almost made an interception off Jon Kitna in the two-minute drill. Wide receiver Isaiah Stanback came across the field on a shallow crossing route, but Newman had better position and got a hand on the ball.
While Newman participated fully with the defense, he is not expected to play a significant role as a punt returner, which is how he injured his groin in the first place. He's only someone to be used in certain situations, if at all, Phillips said.
"He's been kind of on the edge of punt return anyway," Phillips said. "He's not the returner. He's a guy that we're looking at as a backup or maybe a guy that if we get them backed up, we want more of a speed guy and we could utilize him."
The only players remaining on the Cowboys' injury list now are rookie tackle Robert Brewster, starting fullback Deon Anderson and rookie outside linebacker Brandon Williams. Brewster tore his pectoral muscle before camp, likely ending his season, and Anderson underwent a left knee scope Aug. 13 and has begun the month-long recovery process.
That means only Williams, who did not play against Oakland with shoulder soreness, is the only player remaining who might return before camp ends.
"He's hoping to get back (Tuesday), or at least for the (Friday) ball game," Phillips said of Williams. "We'd like to work him also."
Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
