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Dallas Cowboys’ injured band of players back together, ready to play – NFL Nation


OXNARD, Calif. — It was solely the primary stroll-by way of of Dallas Cowboys coaching camp, however quarterback Dak Prescott knew the place he was throwing the soccer even earlier than he noticed the protection.

“I made sure I threw it to Blake,” Prescott mentioned, referring to tight finish Blake Jarwin, who’s coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in final 12 months’s season opener. “Obviously I know everything that he’s been through, fighting his adversity, fighting his injury and getting back on the field.”

For months, Prescott, Jarwin and offensive linemen Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins went by way of grueling rehab from accidents that both ended their 2020 season prematurely or stored them off the sector fully.

Their accidents accounted for 62 video games missed, which performed a large half in why the Cowboys completed 6-10 in coach Mike McCarthy’s first season.

As the Cowboys transfer to full-padded practices for the primary time this week in coaching camp, they’re wholesome — although Martin is coping with a sore ankle — and can play an important position in why the Cowboys have such excessive expectations for the 2021 season.

And by way of their rehab, they fashioned a tighter bond and made a promise.

“It was an unspoken rule,” Jarwin mentioned. “[Director of rehab Britt Brown] has been on us and you have two or three more reps and you kinda look at each other like, ‘Let’s go do this.’ We’ve got to suffer now to be great later. I think every one of us understood that. It was important for us and I think it’s going to pay off big dividends.”

Prescott’s return from the compound fracture and dislocation of his proper ankle has been essentially the most chronicled as a result of of the place he performs, in addition to the $160 million contract the Cowboys signed him to this offseason.

Collins wanted a walker instantly following hip surgical procedure final fall, and was rehabbing for 18 weeks. Jarwin had excessive hopes for the 2020 season after signing a $24 million extension solely to see his season finish after 25 snaps.

Smith tried to battle by way of a neck harm that had bothered him for years, however he relented and had surgical procedure. Martin had missed simply two video games in his first six seasons, however a concussion and torn calf stored him off the sector for six video games.

“Really we just held each other accountable every day to be about it,” Collins mentioned. “In the offseason, there’s a lot of different things you could be doing, but you got to make that commitment and that sacrifice to be there every day. When you have that and have that type of trust, it carries over.”

The man they trusted essentially the most to get them back was Brown, who’s coming into his twenty fifth season with the Cowboys. In the primary assembly of coaching camp, McCarthy acknowledged Brown’s efforts with these getting back from harm, and the players gave him a standing ovation.

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Marcus Spears examines the Cowboys’ questions on protection and says he believes the crew wants to make the playoffs to have a profitable season.

“Old school. Special. Gritty,” Prescott mentioned describing Brown. “He’s passionate. Does his job with true passion, true love, loves the guys that he’s coaching and you feel it each and every day that you go out there, whether it’s a light day or whether it’s a hard day, he’s going to let you know. He’s going to be honest. He’s going to take care of you.”

Jarwin known as Brown a “silent hero.” Collins mentioned practices are simpler than the rehab periods with Brown. Defensive finish DeMarcus Lawrence (back), extensive receiver Amari Cooper (ankle) and defensive sort out Trysten Hill (ankle) probably agree as they’re going by way of the resistance-band coaching with Brown.

The group of 5 injured players counted greater than $50 million towards final 12 months’s wage cap, with Prescott taking on $31.4 million on the franchise tag. The determine would have been better had the Cowboys not restructured the contracts of Smith, Martin and Collins to create cap room.

“If you look at our time with the team, 30 plus years, I don’t think we ever had that many top players [miss games], in terms if you take percentage of salary cap, however you want to look at it, missed games,” Cowboys government vice chairman Stephen Jones mentioned.

Every crew has to cope with accidents. When McCarthy gained a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 2010, he wanted 77 players, so there’s a line between causes and excuses even when they dwell in the identical neighborhood.

The Cowboys could have to cope with extra accidents in 2021; they simply hope it does not occur to their key players.

“We’re a different team with our veteran players coming back,” McCarthy mentioned. “Just watching them go through the rehab and feeling good about the return, it definitely will be a huge impact to our roster, huge impact to our team. We want a healthy, competitive training camp, and they’ll be a big part of our success.”

Prescott referred to their returns as having the band back collectively.

“Me and Tyron talked about it as we were approaching that first team session, ‘It’s been a long time, huh,'” Prescott mentioned. “To see a healthy Tyron, a healthy Zack, a healthy [Ezekiel Elliott] … to have us all back in there with some of those young guys who are going to be great players, it’s awesome. We have a great supporting cast. When those guys come out, we got great guys coming in. … It’s something I am looking forward to each and every day and I know we are going to get better. My excitement is through the roof.”



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