IRVING, Texas – With Dez Bryant expected to miss several weeks following foot surgery, the Cowboys are expected to work out a handful of veteran wide receivers as they look for depth on the 53-man roster: Hakeem Nicks, Austin Pettis, Nick Toon and Clyde Gates.
Head coach Jason Garrett said Monday the team would likely sign a receiver in the wake of Bryant's injury, though there's no guarantee it will be one of the workouts. The Cowboys return to practice Wednesday in preparation for Sunday's Week 2 division game against the Eagles.
Bryant tweeted that his surgery, which repaired a fracture to the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, "went great." Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning that Bryant could begin conditioning as early as two-to-three weeks into his rehab.
Bryant suffered the injury on a crossing route in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 27-26 win over the Giants. The initial prognosis for Bryant's return was four-to-six weeks.
"It takes a bone six weeks to fully recover, and we've had players with foot injuries that did not wait until the six-week period of time before they were functional and before they were able to play," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. "He'll be able to be conditioning, things of that nature as early as two-to-three weeks into his rehab. The facts are, it's just that – no one knows. It has to do with the individual.
"The repair went well, and so Dez is of course Superman when it comes to being physical, but on the other hand, we want it to repair well. So we'll just see how it goes."
Among the receivers who are scheduled to work out, Nicks is probably the most familiar to the Cowboys. He played five seasons as a starter for the Giants (2009-13) and spent last season with Colts, catching 38 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. The Titans waived him at final cuts on Sept. 5.
Pettis started 11 games over four seasons with the Rams, catching 107 passes for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns. He signed with the Chargers in January and was waived at final cuts.
Toon, 26, started five games over two seasons for the Saints and was waived at final cuts.
Only Gates has spent time on the Cowboys' roster, signed the final week of training camp and waived at final cuts.
The Cowboys also have two receivers on their 10-man practice squad: Vince Mayle and Rodney Smith. Neither went to camp with the team.
Devin Street replaced Bryant in the lineup Sunday night, with Terrance Williams taking on lead receiver duties.
