IRVING, Texas --The Cowboys held their final practice of the bye week at Valley Ranch on Wednesday morning before taking a league-mandated four-day break Thursday through Sunday.
The players practiced without pads, and injured players like Miles Austin (hamstring), David Buehler (groin) and Orlando Scandrick (ankle) continued to rehab.
The coaching staff will work at the office through Thursday, then take a three-day weekend. Many will do some work from home before next week's on-field preparation in earnest for the Patriots.
Before practice, the team held a league-mandated, 90-minute life skills meeting. Among the points of emphasis was safety during the bye with many players likely to travel on a long weekend.
"The biggest thing," head coach Jason Garrett said, "is you have to get ourselves healthy physically, get ourselves refreshed mentally and emotionally, get ready to get back to work on Monday."
