IRVING, Texas – Dallas Cowboys safety J.J. Wilcox underwent a procedure on Monday that he hopes cures chronic plantar fasciitis in his right foot that has bothered him since his rookie season.
Wilcox said he had a platelet-rich plasma treatment to help stimulate recovery in his foot, which is why he is not taking part in the Cowboys minicamp this week. He said if the Cowboys had practice next week, he would be on the field. He doesn’t anticipate it being an issue when training camp starts.
“The first OTAs, I couldn’t even walk off the field,” said Wilcox, who started every game at safety last season. “I’ve been battling that for a year and a half. Me and (head athletic trainer Jim Maurer) decided the professional, business opinion was finally to get it fixed and try to do something different this year because we did as much as we could last year. So this year we just took a different route that we think is the best route.”
Tackle Chaz Green, the Cowboys’ third-round pick, had hip surgery on Wednesday that will likely have him start training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list. Green limped off the field two weeks ago in the OTAs and had been rehabbing on the side.
He battled injuries at Florida, but the Cowboys viewed him as a possible swing tackle this year behind Doug Free and Tyron Smith. The missed time will hurt his development, but it opens up possibilities for La’el Collins to get some tackle work in addition to guard. Darrion Weems, rookie Laurence Gibson -- who is rehabbing from finger surgery -- and John Wetzel will also be in the mix.
“We thought we could practice through that but then when we looked at it, rather than take a chance on it being still there and lingering or exacerbating it in training camp, we thought go ahead and get it [done],” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “It could limit him and will limit him early in training camp, but whether or not he’s a PUP situation for the year or not remains to be seen on his rehab. It’s very possible for him to come back and be a part of this team.”