FRISCO, Texas - The Cowboys were under the lights Tuesday night for an open practice in front of the fans at Ford Center.
It's the first of two chances the Dallas-Fort Worth area has to watch the Cowboys in action as training camp has shifted from California to Texas. The Cowboys also have a Wednesday night practice scheduled at Ford Center.
Here are some of the key moments and storylines from Tuesday's practice.
Boy Blue: For the first time since suffering a bruise to his foot/ankle in Oxnard, Jaydon Blue was both fully suited up and practicing in team drills with no noticeable restrictions. The rookie looked great in his reps, of which there were many, and shows no signs of lingering effects from the injury -- putting him on track to potentially make his preseason debut in the finale against the Falcons. (- Patrik Walker)
3 the Hard Way: George Pickens is not of this planet, it seems. You're hard-pressed to escape a practice wherein he doesn't generate a highlight of some sort, and the Cowboys' return to Frisco was no different. Dak Prescott dropped back and unleashed a bullseye of a throw downfield that Pickens brought down over his shoulder, and the defender, at the sideline while keeping both feet inbounds with a falling toe tap. Whew. (- Patrik Walker)
Safety Blankets: From the first two plays of team period in Tuesday's practice, the Cowboys safety duo of Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker made a statement. Wilson made back-to-back would be TFLs on run plays, getting to the outside to make a play and plugging up the middle too. Later on, Malik Hooker forced a fumble on Rivaldo Fairweather, recovered it and would've brought it back for a scoop and score in a real game setting. Brian Schottenheimer has praised the two of them over the course of camp, and they continue to show up. (- Tommy Yarrish)
Running back splits: In the first large team period of practice on Tuesday, the Cowboys ran 19 run plays on 53 total offensive snaps. The splits between the running backs went as follows: Javonte Williams - 6, Jaydon Blue - 4, Miles Sanders - 3, Deuce Vaughn - 3, Malik Davis - 2, Phil Mafah - 1
In a running back battle that's a tight race going into the final preseason game, these reps in practice and Friday's game against the Falcons are growing in importance. (- Tommy Yarrish)
Schoonmaker exits: The Cowboys were down another tight end for the end of Tuesday's practice when Luke Schoonmaker left the field and went to the locker room room. The Cowboys didn't have an official word on the third-year tight end but it did leave them shorthanded, especially with Brevyn Spann-Ford still banged up with an ankle injury. That gave plenty of extra reps to backups Princeton Fant, Rivaldo Fairweather and Tyler Neville, who got into an intense scuffle with Damone Clark and other members of the defense during a play in the team drills. (- Nick Eatman)
Milton Shines: While the quarterback is expected to start the third straight preseason game this week against the Falcons, Milton looked rather comfortable in and out of the pocket during the team drills. He didn't get all the reps as Dak Prescott still had a healthy amount of snaps but when Milton was under center, he had some impressive moments. Milton dropped a perfectly-thrown ball down the sideline to running back Deuce Vaughn out of the backfield. And a few plays later, Milton decided to take off running -something we saw plenty of in training camp in Oxnard but haven't seen it too often in the games. Milton had a run through the middle of the defense that likely would've resulted in at least 30 yards, showing off his long stride and ability to get out of danger and pick up yards. (- Nick Eatman)
