OXNARD, Calif. – Rookie offensive tackle Matt Waletzko will not practice the next two days as the Cowboys evaluate his shoulder injury, head coach Mike McCarthy said.
"I think once we get to next week we'll have a better handle on it," McCarthy said.
The Cowboys practice Friday and Saturday and have a day off Sunday. The first padded practice of training camp is scheduled for Monday.
The fifth-round draft pick out of North Dakota exited Thursday's practice early with the athletic training staff. He's competing for a backup spot behind eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith and projected starting right tackle Terence Steele.
At the moment, there doesn't appear to be a clear frontrunner for the swing tackle job. Waletzko's injury means more practice reps for young tackles Josh Ball, Aviante Collins and Amon Simon.
First-round draft pick Tyler Smith also got some backup tackle snaps in the OTAs but has been primarily splitting first-team left guard reps with Connor McGovern.
"We started in the spring where he was probably 60-40 guard and tackle, but we want to give him more pure guard reps just to get him comfortable," McCarthy said. "I think that's important and let him build a good foundation in there."
