FRISCO, Texas – It's been a question for more than a month, and Orlando Scrandrick finally got to answer it Monday.
With the Cowboys returning from their week off, is the veteran cornerback ready to play?
"Yes. I am 100 percent," Scandrick said.
It's been a frustrating start to the season for Scandrick, who came back from a lengthy knee rehab to be ready in time for training camp this summer. The knee held up just fine, but he injured his hamstring in the Week 1 loss to the Giants, and he only aggravated that problem when he tried to play through it in
Week 2.
"I just needed time," he said. "I was trying to push through something that was maybe a little bit worse than everybody thought."
Since then, Scandrick has been patiently waiting and working his way back. He has gradually increased his participation at practice, and he said before the bye week he was targeting Week 8 against Philadelphia as a possible return. Asked if he could have played yesterday, had the Cowboys played a game, he said yes.
The steady recovery seems to have worked, since Scandrick took part in the first practice of the week and did not appear to be limited. When the Cowboys return to their normal routine on Wednesday, Scandrick should give them their full complement of cornerbacks for the first time in roughly six weeks.
"I don't know if this has been the plan all along, but a couple of weeks ago we came up with a plan," he said. "We found something worked and we went with it, and it's worked great for me."
In addition to Scandrick, the Cowboys also welcomed Morris Claiborne back to practice after he suffered a concussion in Green Bay last week. Along with Anthony Brown, who has impressed during Scandrick's absence, there should be plenty of defensive backs on hand to welcome Carson Wentz to AT&T Stadium on Sunday night.
For his part, Scandrick said he'll just be happy to help contribute to the hot start his team is already enjoying.
"It's easier to watch when we're winning, and just to see the success that's gone on around here," he said. "I just want to get back and contribute to the success and continue the winning."
[embeddedad0]
