OXNARD, Calif. – Whether it's precautionary or not, and the Cowboys were adamant that Dak Prescott leaving the field early on Wednesday with an arm injury is just that, it's still not a great site for Cowboys fans in attendance to the first padded practice of camp.
Prescott apparently sustained some soreness in his throwing arm in the middle of practice, eventually forcing him to the locker room.
The Cowboys don't seem to be concerned with Prescott's latest setback, but the guys behind him didn't exactly follow through with a glowing performance.
Garrett Gilbert took the first-team reps and while he made a handful of plays with the starters, there were some interceptions by all three backups.
"We didn't have our best day for sure," second-year pro Ben DiNucci said of the quarterbacks. "Dak is our leader and a guy that drives us the whole team. We need to pick it up and move on."
- Tight end Dalton Schultz addressed the problems of the offense, which actually showed up on Tuesday, before Dak's injury. "From an offensive standpoint we just need to figure out a way to get it going, especially when the pads come on, we have a very good offensive line and that's something that we pride ourselves on. We've just got to finish plays, no matter what. The execution might not be there – it's Day One of pads, it's going to be messed up a little bit – but we've got to get the finish."
- Out of bounds or not, CeeDee Lamb came up with one of the greatest catches of his young career during a situational drill in the red zone. With the Cowboys working on 2-point conversions, Gilbert lofted a pass to the corner for Lamb, who turned his body just in time to get one hand out to snag in the pass while being covered by Trevon Diggs. It didn't seem that Lamb got both feet in bounds, but it's still a ridiculous catch that shows just how talented the second-year receiver can be.
- Another impressive day for the defense in terms of activity and takeaways. Unofficially, the defense had five interceptions from rookie linebacker Micah Parsons, rookie safety Israel Mukuamu, safety Darian Thompson and cornerbacks Anthony Brown and Maurice Canady (his second in as many days). Keep in mind that some throws are based off situations: for example, Ben DiNucci's pick was a heave downfield on fourth-and-15.
- It wasn't quite Michael Gallup's fence-flip from Tuesday's practice, but wide receiver Malik Turner's post-catch momentum carried him straight into the padding on the midfield tower. Turner was slow to get up but continued to practice.
- Cornerback Jourdan Lewis was dressed for practice but did not take part in team drills again Wednesday. Head coach Mike McCarthy said Lewis' injury is nothing major. Defensive end Bradlee Anae also did rehab on the side. Gallup was held out of practice because he tweaked his ankle on that fence-flip play from Tuesday.
- Former Cowboys receiver Brice Butler, who was visiting the area this week, stopped by practice. While he was behind the fence in the VIP area, he still managed to chat with some of his former teammates, including La'el Collins and Ezekiel Elliott. Butler, a seven-year veteran, played 38 of his 69 career games with the Cowboys from 2015-18.
