IRVING, Texas – A lot of eyes will be on Anthony Spencer this week.
The Cowboys decided not to put him on the physically unable to perform list to start the year, believing he could be available after a couple weeks, and head coach Jason Garrett said the defensive end's getting closer this week.
"In some form, he'll do some football," Garrett said. "But he's really worked hard, he looks good. But again, we have to be mindful about where he came from and just take it day by day and see how he handles the work."
The Cowboys continue to cycle linemen in and out to keep them fresh. They like the pressure Jeremy Mincey and company have been able to put on, but a Spencer return could be a major boost in the pass rushing department.
Dallas has three sacks in two games, but two of them came from linebackers. They want Spencer back soon, but they know they need to be careful about rushing Spencer back before he's ready as he continues to rehab from last year's microfracture knee surgery. Spencer's rehab has ramped up in recent weeks and continues to slowly move forward, as long as he feels no additional discomfort. [embedded_ad]
Garrett said it's difficult to know exactly how close Spencer is, but he anticipates more work for the defensive end this week.
"We'll start slowly, (he'll) certainly be on the side, maybe a little bit of individual work and see how he responds to the work and see if we can progress from day to day," Garrett said.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones sounded cautiously optimistic Monday on 105.3 FM "The Fan" that Spencer could be about two weeks away from playing in games for the Cowboys.
"I think that's not unreasonable," Jones said. "That's certainly aggressive, but I don't think it's totally out of the question."
