FRISCO, Texas – Given all the talk about Tony Romo's status as the Cowboys' backup, it's at least safe to assume he's in good health.

At this point, it no longer feels like news that Romo was on hand for the Cowboys' first practice of Week 11 – which he was, taking part in individual drills and team warmups alongside Dak Prescott.

As was the case last week, it was an encouraging start to the week for the Cowboys, who saw the vast majority of their roster on hand for practice. Orlando Scandrick was suited up in participating in the 20 minutes that were open to local media. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said it appeared that Scandrick was OK after he left in the fourth quarter of last week's win against Pittsburgh.

With Scandrick in the fold, the list of absences was a fairly manageable one. Tyron Smith was not present, which no longer feels like a surprise. The All-Pro left tackle has been coping with a back injury all season, and the Cowboys have made it a point to start him out slowly in practice, before gradually ramping him up.

[embeddedad0]Conversely, in place of Smith was Chaz Green, who was on hand and participating. Green is apparently on the opposite schedule from Smith. He practiced in the early going of last week, as well, before eventually being downgraded later in the week. Green did not travel to Pittsburgh with the team last weekend, as he is still recovering from the foot sprain that sidelined him in Week 4.

Both Smith and Green will bear further monitoring as the week goes on – as has been the case for a while now.

Elsewhere, the Cowboys' secondary still looks rather sparse, as Morris Claiborne and Barry Church are still absent from the proceedings. It was encouraging to note, however, that Church came out to practice and did rehabilitation work apart from the rest of the team.

Church broke his arm in the win against Philadelphia, and the Cowboys are confident he'll only be sidelined for a few more weeks.

Injuries on the offense also prompted a roster move ahead of Wednesday's practice. Geoff Swaim has been moved to the injured reserve, as he'll need to undergo surgery on the pectoral muscle he injured in Pittsburgh.

The Cowboys have called up second-year receiver Vince Mayle from the practice squad in Swaim's place. Mayle was a fourth-round draft pick by the Browns in 2015 but was cut at the end of training camp. He signed on to the Cowboys' practice squad and appeared in one game last year, the Week 5 loss to New England. He once against signed on to the Cowboys' practice squad this year after the team's final cuts.