The NFL season is here. Don't miss any of the action with our daily updates: news, notes and more throughout the Cowboys' off-season. Presented by Sleep Number
June 11 Updates
Due to the nation's COVID-19 crisis, the NFL has informed teams that in-person minicamps won't be permitted before the voluntary offseason program period ends June 26, according to an NFL Media report.
The Cowboys and the league's other 31 teams have the option to continue their virtual programs for another two weeks through June 26. But it appears the Cowboys won't be able to fully reconvene before training camp. That schedule has not yet been announced.
Last Friday, the league gave the green light for coaching staffs to begin returning to team facilities. But non-rehabbing players are still training in virtual mode while the league continues finalizing health and safety protocols for their eventual return.
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June 9 Updates
7:00 p.m. – DeMarcus Lawrence and his fellow Cowboys pass rushers, the Hot Boyz, continue to drive relief efforts for those impacted by the nation's COVID-19 crisis.
Cowboys fans also can visit www.GetHotBoyz.com and make a donation to GENYOUth Now, a COVID-19 emergency school nutrition fund for children who depend on the USDA's school meal program.
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May 28 Updates
11:50 a.m. – It's been just over a month since the Cowboys drafted CeeDee Lamb and their seven-man class, and head coach Mike McCarthy likes the progress the draft picks and undrafted rookies have made in the voluntary virtual offseason program.
"I like where they are," McCarthy said. "We had a rookie orientation two weeks after the draft and then we able to roll the rookies right into the veteran meetings and then continue with the afternoon meetings with the rookies. So at the end of last week we felt we had the rookies kind of caught up with where the veterans as far as what we're installing.
"The afternoon meetings, which is purely the rookies, has been very beneficial. We've really been exercising the importance from a football perspective on scheme, communication and make sure they have a clear vision of their job responsibilities. But we've also spent a lot of time with our rookies as far as player engagement. We've had some speakers and there's continuing education that always goes on there. We've been making a lot of progress there."
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May 21 Updates
4:45 p.m. – Finally, some clarification from the new No. 88.
From the time he chose the Cowboys' iconic number, there's been speculation about how CeeDee Lamb wound up in No. 88. The star receiver initially chose No. 10 the night the Cowboys selected him in the first round of the NFL draft.
It caused quite a stir when he instead chose No. 88 – the number won by franchise legends Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant.
In an interview Thursday with 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas, Lamb explained his rationale for his new number.
"I had the option of picking 10 or 88, and I picked 10," he said. "Then, kind of going more in depth with the situation, understanding the tradition and how much that number means to this organization and how much of a foundation that number holds – the great legends before me and what they've done with that number. It was kind of like, why not keep the tradition going? Obviously, they didn't retire that number for a reason, so just trying to keep the legacy of 88 going in Dallas."
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9:31 a.m. – When guard Zack Martin joined the Cowboys in 2014, Travis Frederick helped him transition to the league. The two offensive linemen became good friends and perennial Pro Bowlers.
With Frederick retiring, the Cowboys drafted another former Wisconsin center – Tyler Biadasz – in the fourth round this year. Martin is excited to work with Biadasz when the team is able to get back on the field together. Right now, NFL offseason programs are in a virtual setting due to the nation's COVID-19 crisis.
"I've gotten a chance to just text him a little bit and hear him in the meetings," Martin said via conference call. "But I'm looking forward to, whenever we do get back together, to kind of bringing him along and helping him out along the way."
