OXNARD, Calif. – Wednesday's doctor visit brought good news for Travis Frederick.
Frederick missed Wednesday morning's walkthrough to go visit Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles, as he had been bothered by repeated stingers in the last few days. Visiting with reporters on Wednesday evening, the All-Pro center said the issue doesn't appear any more serious than that.
"I just caught a couple stingers the last couple days, and when you're working with your neck you just want to be careful," he said. "I wanted to be sure that there was nothing else involved in it, so I went and saw one of the specialists down in L.A., one of the top guys, and he assured me that it's stingers."
Stingers are injuries common to football, which occur essentially when nerves in the neck and shoulder are stretched or compressed. They're typically marked by a shooting or burning pain.
Fortunately for Frederick, the checkup didn't reveal any deeper issues, and he said the issue should hopefully be resolved with some downtime.
"Rest is part of it – just not aggravating those issues again," he said. "We'll sort of take it as an 'as it goes' process."
Frederick couldn't say for sure when he'd return to the practice field. He won't take part in Thursday's on-field work, and it seems unlikely he'd take part in Saturday's preseason game against Cincinnati.
Beyond that, though, it doesn't sound like anything overly serious, as Frederick said he should simply need a bit of rest before returning to action.
"I think I caught one a couple years ago and it wasn't a problem again," he said. "This time I had several over the course of a couple of days. When that happens, it sort of starts to aggravate itself. So it just needs a little bit of time to rest and get the inflammation down."
Quick Hits From Practice
· Wide receiver Tavon Austin left after the early portion of practice because he felt a little tightness in his hamstring. The decision to hold him out was precautionary.
· Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch also left practice with a groin strain early in team drills. But, similar to Austin's hamstring, the Cowboys are likely being cautious with their first-round pick.
· Garrett oversaw a competitive one-on-one receiving drill at the start of practice. The ball was snapped at approximately the 10-yard line, giving receivers less field to work with. The offense had 12 catches to the defense's 11 stops. The deciding play was Dak Prescott's touchdown pass to Ezekiel Elliott with Sean Lee in coverage. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan chose his star running back to go win the drill.
· Tight end Blake Jarwin had the most impressive catch of the period, hauling in a pass with one hand despite tight coverage from safety Jameill Showers.
· Elliott and Lee showed their competitive sides throughout practice. Earlier in the one-on-one drill, Elliott caught a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone against tight coverage from Lee. There wasn't a definitive touchdown signal, and Lee contested the catch with an emphatic "No way!" Then in team drills, after Elliott broke through the defense for a big gain, Lee followed him the length of the field into the end zone well after the whistle.
· Tyron Smith doesn't give much ground, if any, but rookie Dorance Armstrong might have slightly gotten a win in the one-on-one pass rush drill with an inside move that caught the Pro Bowl left tackle off guard.
· Rookie receiver Michael Gallup continues to make plays downfield. A week after catching a 30-yard touchdown pass from Prescott in the preseason opener, he hauled in a deep pass from Cooper Rush down the left sideline in team drills.
· Dan Bailey was perfect 6-for-6 again on kicks from approximately 33, 39, 43, 45, 47 and 49.
· Fullback Jamize Olawale appeared to hurt his hand or arm early in team drills with the offense starting inside the 2-yard line. But he returned after getting checked out by the athletic training staff.
· Wide receivers Cole Beasley (groin), Deonte Thompson (Achilles tightness) and Noah Brown (hamstring) did not practice again. Newly-signed receiver Dres Anderson was at practice wearing No. 18. Safety Marqueston Huff (groin) sat out again, too.
