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SSHS: How should Williams feel?
Tony Gonzalez says Dallas Cowboys’ Jason Witten is NFL’s top tight end
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IRVING — Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips on Friday pronounced all of his injured players ready to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
That included linebacker DeMarcus Ware (foot), running back Marion Barber (thumb), running back Felix Jones (knee), safety Gerald Sensabaugh (thumb) and receiver Roy Williams (ribs). None have missed any practice this week.Phillips said he is worried about Williams.Williams has not played since suffering three damaged ribs against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 4. He missed the Kansas City Chiefs game the following week before last week’s bye. Williams wants to and plans to play Sunday against the Falcons, but he remains sore and in pain — so much so that the Cowboys don’t know how long he will go if he does play."Roy is the guy I’m worried about," Phillips said. "We will see how he is. He is in pain."If Williams does play, he will likely wear protective padding for his ribs.The uncertainty with Williams clouds a roster spot for the Cowboys. They might need to carry an extra receiver to the game in rookie Kevin Ogletree — adding to the team’s 45-man active roster conundrum. The Cowboys were already looking for a spot to fit in newly signed return man Allen Rossum. Now they might have to deactivate a player at another position to make Ogletree one of the 45.Jones, who has missed the past two games, said Friday he does not know whether he will play with a brace on his left knee. He practiced every day but Thursday with the brace and said he has gotten more comfortable with it. "He looks fast," Phillips said. "He’s moved well, so I think he’ll get back into his role, which could be quite a bit during the game." Money, money, moneyThere has been Internet speculation about whether Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is so cash strapped, without a naming rights deal for his new stadium, that he has cut back on player spending. But Stephen Jones, the team’s executive vice president, strongly denied that the $1.2 billion stadium — on which Jerry Jones has spent some $700 million — has anything to do with the team’s 31st rank for committed cash."That’s not right," Stephen Jones said. "We’re snug against [the salary cap]."The Cowboys have committed only $93.5 million in actual dollars to their roster this season, behind only Kansas City at $89 million, according to the Web site National Football Post. The Cowboys, though, were close to the top in spending last season while still paying hundreds of millions as the stadium was being constructed. They paid out more than $70 million in bonuses in 2008, including $13 million to Flozell Adams, $12 million to Terence Newman and $12 million to Marion Barber.From 2004-08, the Cowboys spent a league-high $566 million.Ware’s dealThe Cowboys have $11 million in salary-cap space left this season. They are working on a long-term deal for linebacker DeMarcus Ware, which would eat up much of that space. Stephen Jones said negotiations are ongoing with Ware’s agent. "It’s already out of my mind, we’re so deep into our season," said Ware, who is in the final year of his rookie contract. "It’s football, football, football. That contract stuff will happen whenever it happens. You can’t worry about that. You already have enough pressure on you."Game informationParking lots will open at 10 a.m. and the plazas open at noon for Sunday’s game at Cowboys Stadium. Gates open at 1 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.Clarence E. Hill Jr., 817-390-7760 Charean Williams, 817-390-7760
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