IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys stayed the course with their Friday morning practice routine, as their various injury situations remained relatively unchanged.
DeMarco Murray attended practice for the third-straight day, and Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said his workload would likely be similar to Thursday, when Murray was a limited participant in the proceedings.
"No real updates beyond, DeMarco will probably do something similar to yesterday," Garrett said. "Hopefully he can make some progress as the week goes on."
While Murray practiced, Zack Martin and Doug Free both sat out for a third-straight day. The pair of offensive linemen haven't participated in practice since they both sustained ankle injuries during the win against Philadelphia.
"We'll see what Doug is able to do, don't anticipate much. We'll see what Zack is able to do as the next couple of days progress," Garrett said.
Martin's absence means that if he can play Sunday, it will be without any practice reps during the week. That's common for veteran players, but perhaps a bit more unusual for a rookie – though Garrett said there aren't any concrete rules about practice time determining playing time.
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"We'll just see what he's able to do today. Hopefully he can move around a little bit – did a great job in the game the other night, just fighting through it," he said. "He's worked very hard in his rehab, so we'll see what he's able to do today."
Defensively, the Cowboys were once again without Dekoda Watson or Josh Brent. Watson is battling the same hamstring injury from the Nov. 23 game against New York, while Brent is fighting the calf strain he suffered during practice last week.
Brandon Weeden also missed Friday's practice, albeit for personal reasons.
As for Murray, the fourth-year running back made waves Thursday when he said that he would be the determining voice in whether he got to play against the Colts. Asked about it Friday, Garrett agreed with his running back's assessment.
Absolutely. He knows how he feels more than anybody else, and it's our job as coaches and medical staff to evaluate him and see if he's functional," Garrett said. "If we see things that don't really add up to what he's saying about how he's feeling, we'll have that communication. But he's the one who knows more about himself than anybody, and we trust his feedback."
