FRISCO, Texas – The first Wednesday practice of the regular season will not feature the top two draft picks of the 2022 class. But according to head coach Mike McCarthy, the team seems hopeful they can get back to practice before the end of the week.
Tyler Smith suffered a strained hamstring on Monday and left practice early. McCarthy said it's an injury he hasn't dealt with in the past but is hopeful he can get some work in either Thursday or Friday.
Sam Williams is dealing with a toe injury that will keep him out of action on Wednesday as well.
"I think both of them are in a similar category," McCarthy said of Williams and Smith. "They'll work with Britt (Brown). The goal is to get them out to practice by the end of the week."
Smith has spent all of training camp and preseason at left guard although he played mostly left tackle season. If he can't go, McCarthy said they'll work a couple of options, but didn't get into details. Rookie T.J. Bass would likely be one of the options.
If Williams can't play this week, the Cowboys do have a little more depth in terms of pass-rushers, headlined by Micah Parsons. But DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler are all used as defensive end and edge rushers.
Other injuries to watch this week include safety Donovan Wilson, who hasn't been on the field since the first day of training camp because of a calf injury. On Monday, McCarthy said Wilson is "getting close" to returning. Also, cornerback Jourdan Lewis continues to rehab his foot injury, but isn't expected to practice this week.
