FRISCO, Texas – Just like that, football is back.
For the first time in 2020, the first time in the new Mike McCarthy era, the Dallas Cowboys conducted an official team practice with the entire roster.
Obviously there were visible changes caused by the national pandemic stemming from the coronavirus.
Coaches and staff members wearing masks and face coverings. Planned spacing and distance measures in certain drills where the players are waiting for their reps. Limited media in attendance, spaced out in both end zone. Those were just some of the many changes that make this year's camp look so unique to any other.
But at the end of the day, it's still football practice, a welcomed sight after such a long layoff this offseason.
The most visible change likely has the least effect to the entire team, but it's certainly a unique sight.
The quarterbacks ran onto the practice field Friday wearing red jerseys. Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton and the other passers definitely stood out among the rest, which of course, is the point. It's been a rather common practice for football coaches on all levels to differentiate the quarterbacks from the team in an effort to keep them from getting hit and injured.
Just the sight of quarterbacks wearing red had even the most veteran media members and Cowboys staffers wondering the last time of this occurrence, with many of them pointing to the Tom Landry days of the 1980s.
Regardless what they're wearing, how the quarterbacks performed is obviously more important. Prescott had a few nice throws in the 7-on-7 drills, including a dart down the middle of the field to rookie CeeDee Lamb, who got plenty of reps with the first-team offense as well.
