FRISCO, Texas — It's been a long time coming, but the Dallas Cowboys have officially designated wide receiver James Washington to return from injured reserve, a move that will open a 21-day window wherein he'll be allowed to participate in full team practice, effective Wednesday.
Washington will not yet count against the 53-man roster tally however (meaning it's not a corresponding move to the decision to waive Tarell Basham a day prior), as the team gets the aforementioned 21 days to either activate him fully or to revert him back to IR. If the latter occurs, it would be season-ending.
But the Cowboys are focused on getting Washington acclimated again with the system.
"Just really want to see him work," head coach Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday. "He'll work primarily on the look-teams. James has a lot of tape at his time in Pittsburgh. We're looking for more quantity from him, get his workload capacity up where it needs to be, and get him some live reps."
Washington signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys in the offseason but missed most of the summer with an ankle injury before suffering a fractured foot early in training camp, having been sidelined since.
A few weeks back, Washington admitted to being 100% physically but, considering he was working to return from the first major injury of his football life, he was working through the mental aspect of the rehab process.
As the Cowboys continue "full steam ahead" in their negotiations with Odell Beckham, Jr., should they successfully land him, they do so knowing Washington is potentially ready to start contributing for quarterback Dak Prescott and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as well.
