IRVING, Texas – Two members of the Cowboys' secondary returned to the fold Wednesday at the team's first practice of Week 15.
Tyler Patmon, missing since Nov. 9 with injuries to his knee and ankle, and Jeff Heath, who broke his thumb two weeks ago in New York, both practiced for the first time in December. Their presence at practice brought the Cowboys back to full strength in the secondary for the first time in a month.
Patmon and Heath returning also gives the Cowboys two of their three players who were ruled out of last week's game against Chicago. The third would be linebacker Dekoda Watson, who injured his hamstring against the Giants and is still missing from practice.
"We will see what their availability is," said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. "We anticipate Patmon being able to do a lot of stuff today -- maybe less so for Dekoda."
It certainly seems as though the Cowboys have confidence in Patmon's availability for Sunday's game against the Eagles. The team announced Tuesday it had waived fellow cornerback Micah Pellerin, and on Wednesday the Cowboys re-signed him to the practice squad.
In other practice squad news, Lavar Edwards was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.
Garrett said Wednesday morning that the team hasn't filled Pellerin's spot on the 53-man roster. If Watson is again unavailable, it's possible the Cowboys could add another linebacker in his place. They could also look to add a pass rusher.
Speaking of pass rushers, DeMarcus Lawrence participated in practice Wednesday after he was made inactive last week with a rib injury. While the rookie was back at work, veteran Jeremy Mincey was absent – though that was for personal reasons, rather than injury.
Tony Romo also sat out of Wednesday's practice – as has been his routine for most of the season. There had been some speculation that Romo might go through the first practice of the week, considering the long weekend. Garrett said he didn't want to deviate from the plan, however.
"We feel like he's been in a good routine with this, getting most of his work in the walkthrough, getting a good back rehab day in and then coming back to work on Thursday and Friday practicing," he said. "I think it's been a good thing for him and a good thing for our team."
