FRISCO, Texas – Starting left guard Connor Williams will have arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday, and the Cowboys hope the rookie's recovery time will be a "short-term thing," head coach Jason Garrett said.
Williams, the team's 2018 second-round draft pick, has started the first eight games. Garrett said there will be competition at left guard this week to determine a fill-in starter.
"We have some guys we have on our roster who we like," Garrett said. (Backups) Xavier Su'a-Filo, Adam Redmond, those guys will get opportunities there and we'll see how it plays out through the course of this week at practice.
"All options are available to us. We like all of our interior guys. We'll just practice this week and see how it goes."
The Cowboys (3-5) are holding a light, slower-paced practice Wednesday coming off Monday night's game against Tennessee. They play at Philadelphia (4-4) on Sunday night.
Defensive end Randy Gregory (knee) and starting tight end Geoff Swaim (knee) were on the field with the team during the open portion, though it's unclear how much work they would have gotten in a normal-paced practice. Both were inactive against the Titans.
Linebacker Sean Lee is expected to miss some time with a hamstring injury. Defensive lineman David Irving is recovering from a high ankle sprain. And Garrett said Tuesday that he didn't think defensive end Taco Charlton (shoulder) would practice at the start of the work week.
(Update 3:15 p.m.) -- Gregory was listed as limited in practice. Eight players did not practice: Williams, Swaim, Lee, Irving, Charlton, wide receiver Tavon Austin (groin), linebacker Joe Thomas (foot) and wide receiver Deonte Thompson (ribs).
