IRVING, Texas -- After going through the offseason without a serious injury to any of their regulars, the Dallas Cowboys suffered a scare Thursday when wide receiver Terrance Williams was forced from the final minicamp practice with an elbow injury.
Williams and cornerback Byron Jones were competing for a pass in team drills and the receiver came down awkwardly resulting in his elbow getting pinched between his body and the turf. He remained on the ground for a few minutes and was helped off the field by the athletic trainers.
X-rays were negative, but there could be some nerve irritation.
Injuries are, “the No. 1 thing you’re worried about,” wide receivers coach Derek Dooley said, “but you can’t coach worrying about injury because the only way to be a good football player is to go out there and play. Sometimes it’s physical and there’s always risk involved. Hopefully he’ll be OK and we’ll see him in five weeks.”
The Cowboys are off until they fly to Oxnard, California, on July 28 for the start of training camp.
Williams had a productive offseason, taking on more responsibility on and off the field with Dez Bryant remaining mostly away from the team until his contract is resolved.
“He’s had a phenomenal four weeks,” Dooley said. “He really has. I told him, in fact, before we went on the field how proud I was of him. He’s not only taken a tremendous leadership role in the group, really setting the example of how you do things, he’s expanded his route inventory. He’s played X. He’s played Z. He’s played in the slot and every day he went out there and was the same player. Every route, every opportunity he had he took advantage of it. So he’s made a big jump this offseason.”
For the first time this offseason quarterback Tony Romo did not take team snaps just for a day of rest. After missing the last two offseasons with back surgeries, Romo handled the nine organized team activities and two of the three minicamp practices without any issue.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Romo’s performance has been the biggest positive of the offseason. With Romo watching, Brandon Weeden took the first-team snaps for the first time.
Left guard Ronald Leary did not practice because of a tight back, but a number of veterans, like Orlando Scandrick, did not take part in team drills or were extremely limited on the final day of the offseason.