OXNARD, Calif. – Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett reiterated Sunday that linebacker Jaylon Smith will start camp on a limited practice schedule as he works his way back from last year's injury.
Smith spent his rookie season rehabbing from a torn ACL and nerve damage with the athletic trainers and the strength and conditioning staff. He practiced every other day during this year's offseason program.
Training camp will be Smith's first time in pads since college. The Cowboys' 2016 second-round pick has worn a brace to assist his foot's mobility - a product of the nerve damage he sustained in his final game at Notre Dame.
"The biggest thing for us is we're going to take it day by day," Garrett said. "He's made great progress because his approach, it's a laser-like focus on what he needs to do each day and the strides he's made, it's been fantastic.
"Rather than saying he's going to come back here, he's going to do this then - all that stuff is arbitrary. Keep doing what you're doing each and every day, get better and better and better. He's going to come out to practice tomorrow, we'll see how he does. We anticipate him doing well if it follows with what he did in the spring. We'll make our decisions going forward."
Like Smith, Garrett said the Cowboys will monitor the workload of several players who are returning from injuries. Among them: guard/center Joe Looney, defensive end Benson Mayowa, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, defensive end Charles Tapper, tight end Geoff Swaim and tight end James Hanna.
