FRISCO, Texas – DeMarcus Lawrence has always spoken his mind. So if you ask him what a week off can do for him, he's going to shoot you straight.
"Nothing," he said.
That's not a surprising thing to hear from a guy who slams into people for a living. The Cowboys have two light practices this week, and they'll be off all weekend. But at the end of the day, four days off during a four-month grind probably feels a bit negligible.
Lawrence said his plan for the weekend is to chill and relax, but through five years in the league he said the key is for each player is to learn what maintenance routine works best personally.
"It's all about learning your body and learning what's best for you," he said.
For Lawrence, that'll mean a little bit of work on his injured shoulder. Lawrence tore his labrum two years ago, and he has been on the Cowboys' injury report ever since he aggravated the problem in the loss to Houston a few weeks ago.
It's always going to draw attention when one of the league's best pass rushers is on the injury report, but Lawrence insisted that he's feeling fine.
"Like I said, I've been playing with it for two years," he said. "It's not a huge problem, it just popped out for one game and now we're back to normal. We're good."
Part of Lawrence's maintenance plan will be working on the shoulder during his downtime. But if the injury didn't keep him off the field back in 2016, it doesn't sound like it's going to stop him this time around, either.
"I've just got to maintain in the weight room, keep trying to strengthen it and go from there," he said.
