Cowboys notes: Cornerback to have surgery on hand; Dez can still be Dez
Brandon Carr will undergo surgery on a broken bone in his right hand Monday in Dallas, and it’s unknown when the Dallas Cowboys cornerback will be cleared to practice.
Carr broke the bone during Thursday’s practice, saying it felt like he cracked his knuckles, and he is hopeful it doesn’t sideline him too long.
It’s a similar injury to what DeMarco Murray went through last season against Philadelphia in Week 15. Murray had surgery the next day, and played the following week against Indianapolis.
Fortunately for Carr, he has more time with the regular season a month away. This will probably keep him out of the first two preseason games, although Carr is confident he’ll be ready to go when the season starts.
“This is not my first go-round,” Carr said. “I have a feel for what takes to get prepared for games. If you miss some preseason games for the greater good of the team or myself, then that’s what it takes to get ready.”
Carr, 29, has never missed a regular-season game due to an injury.
“I take a lot of pride in being able to fight through whatever is going on to suit up on Sunday,” he said. “At the same time, I’ve been blessed. It’s not all me. It’s really not me at all. I’ve just been blessed to play through certain injuries and stay away from the major ones.”
Carr said he will rejoin the team as soon as he is cleared to fly back.
Carr’s injury has the Cowboys thin at cornerback in training camp. Orlando Scandrick is out at least a couple of days with a sore knee. That means top pick Byron Jones and veteran Corey White will get almost exclusive work at cornerback for the time being instead of working at safety, coach Jason Garrett said.
The team has also been cautious with Morris Claiborne, who is coming back from a torn patella tendon. But Claiborne views this as an opportunity for him to take on more of a leadership role.
“I’m pretty much going to be the leader of the group now with those guys out,” Claiborne said. “I accept that challenge and I’m ready for it.”
McFadden plan
Running back Darren McFadden won’t return to practice until after the team’s first preseason game at San Diego on Thursday, which means the earliest McFadden would go is next Saturday.
There had been some hope that McFadden could return to practice as early as Saturday, but Garrett said the team isn’t willing to rush him back.
“It’s just being very deliberate with his rehab,” Garrett said. “Making sure a guy who has these soft tissue injuries is really ready to go before we put them back out there.”
The Cowboys placed McFadden on the physically unable to perform list to start camp after he injured his left hamstring. He dealt with a right hamstring injury earlier this off-season.
McFadden has been working on the side, and said earlier this week that his rehab has been going well.
“I’ve been feeling good, man,” McFadden said. “I’m just looking forward to getting back out there on the field.”
Dez’s hammy
Garrett ended the dunk-gate controversy surrounding receiver Dez Bryant before it even got started.
Bryant did not practice Saturday because of a hamstring injury he suffered when running a route in practice Thursday, not because he dunked the ball over the goal post.
Garrett said the Cowboys don’t want any of their players getting hurt on a celebration, but also said they love Bryant’s passion and don’t want to take “the Dez out of Dez.”
“Dez is a passionate guy and he loves football,” Garrett said. “If we get every player and every coach and every staff member in our organization to have the passion, emotion and enthusiasm for the game that Dez Bryant has, we’re going to win a lot of games. Sometimes there are manifestations of that. Certainly you don’t want a player getting hurt when he celebrates.
“That’s not what happened. Dez got hurt on a route. But we don’t think his injury is serious. We don’t want to take the Dez out of Dez, though. Dez is a special player and he brings so much to our football team.”
Bryant isn’t the only receiver dealing with a hamstring injury, either. Baylor product Antwan Goodley is nursing one as well, and didn’t practice Saturday.
Briefly
▪ Reserve defensive end Kenneth Boatright was released from the hospital Saturday, according to his agent Brett Tessler. Boatright had to be carted off the field Thursday and taken to a local hospital after suffering what the team called a neck injury.
▪ Linebacker Sean Lee participated in team drills for the first time Saturday.
▪ Garrett on the team’s plans for Sunday’s Blue/White Scrimmage: “For the veteran players … it’ll be a lot of red zone work, some two-minute work. It’ll look and feel like practice up to this point, nobody’s getting tackled. … For the younger guys, we want to give them a set where they’re really playing football and back to going to the ground and it’s a more physical brand.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2015 at 11:48 PM with the headline "Cowboys notes: Cornerback to have surgery on hand; Dez can still be Dez."