Cowboys News: Lamb held out final minicamp practice, Ezekiel Elliott visits The Star
Thursday marked the last practice of minicamp. The rookies will get some work in next week, but most of the team has been set free on their summer break before having to reconvene in Oxnard in late July. The team’s top receiver, though, got an early start; CeeDee Lamb was held out of the short session after a minor scare on Wednesday. We’re also talking Prescott and Cooks, and Johnathan Hankins has big things to say about the rookie playing alongside him.
Meanwhile, Jabril Cox is ready to pick up where he left off in 2021, Stephon Gilmore is doing good things on both sides of the ball, and the entire team wears some hometown support on their sleeves in the wake of a tragedy. All that, plus ranking linebackers, looking at the youth movement among the roster’s core players, two rookies get a special surprise from all-time greats, and the Cowboys make a number-crunching hire. Oh, and Ezekiel Elliott was spotted just walking around the team headquarters last week… so cue the wild speculation. That’s all up in News and Notes.
An offer for Cowboys fans
For the best local Austin news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to the Austin American-Statesman.
Hankins: Mazi Smith, Cowboys D-line will be 'nasty' :: The Mothership
The mammoth Hankins is downright giddy talking about what the first-round draft pick brings to the Cowboys defensive line. “Every time I talk about it, I’m just so excited and not just to talk about it, but to be a part of it,” he said. “We’re working hard, getting each other better, and we’re some bad [expletives]. That’s just the way we do things, and that’s what our motto is.” He added that Smith is already one of the strongest players on the entire roster.
Jabril Cox flashing in Cowboys minicamp, could demand big role in 2023 :: Cowboys Wire
An ACL injury in October of 2021 put an abrupt end to Cox’s promising rookie season and set him on a long rehabilitation path that stretched into his second year. Now battling for the LB3 spot alongside Devin Harper and DeMarvion Overshown, Cox looks to finally prove why so many draftniks thought Dallas pulled off a major steal by getting the LSU star in the fourth round over two years ago. His early minicamp work shows he’s well on his way.
NFC East teams lacking at linebacker, but here's how they rank :: Cowboys Wire
The Cowboys come in second in our divisional rankings of linebackers, but only because Jayron Kearse is listed as a safety and Micah Parsons is more of an edge rusher. That leaves Dallas with a single reliable starter and then a ton of potential; Damone Clark, Jabril Cox, DeMarvion Overshown, Devin Harper, Malik Jefferson, and Isaiah Land will all get the chance to be a breakout player next to Leighton Vander Esch.
Cowboys CB Stephon Gilmore proving an asset on both sides of the ball :: Cowboys Wire
Gilmore’s veteran presence obviously improves the Cowboys secondary. But it also provides a much stiffer test for Dak Prescott and the offense every day in practice. If steel sharpens steel, the cornerback will make the other side of the ball much better prepared to go up against high-level pass coverage on gameday.
Mike McCarthy wants Dak Prescott to be Hall of Fame-type QB, own Dallas Cowboys offense :: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Now that he’s working more closely with Prescott, McCarthy found himself throwing out other names he’s mentored- like Montana, Favre, and Rodgers- when talking about his current starting quarterback. But Prescott has to take total ownership of the offense, not just run it. “I have no interest in being known as a guru coach or a smart coach,” the coach said. “I want smart, Hall-of-Fame-type quarterbacks.”
Is Brandin Cooks the fastest Cowboys player? The world may never know :: Cowboys Wire
After torching two Cowboys teammates for a 60-yard touchdown Wednesday, Cooks said he was glad to “give them a little taste” of his fabled speed before the summer break. He’s not sure if he’s faster than KaVontae Turpin or C.J. Goodwin, but he explained that playing fast is different than running fast… and that there would be no foot race to settle the matter.
Lamb held out of Thursday practice, no concerns after Wednesday scare :: Jon Machota (Twitter)
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said WR CeeDee Lamb, who was limping after making a catch late in yesterday’s minicamp practice, won’t practice today. No concerns about injury, just going to hold him out of their last practice before training camp in late July
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) June 8, 2023
Ranking CBs who have to try and stop CeeDee Lamb in 2023 :: Cowboys Wire
The Cowboys’ top receiving threat will go up against an all-star cast of opposing cornerbacks in 2023. Sauce Gardner, Jalen Ramsey, Asante Samuel, and Darius Slay (twice) figure to be the most formidable obstacles standing in the way of a 1,500-yard campaign for Lamb.
Mick Shots: From kicker, to beefing up, to Zeke :: The Mothership
Among Mickey Spagnola’s post-minicamp tidbits, this interesting nugget: Ezekiel Elliott was in the building last week. “He said he really had nothing going on and that, ‘We’ll see'” in regard to possibly returning to the Cowboys if he does not get a better offer elsewhere. It was learned that he wasn’t heading to Jerry Jones’s office, but likely just stopping by the Cowboys Club.
Cowboys' young core players come in 6th in ESPN rankings :: Cowboys Wire
Despite the Cowboys’ top five players including one entering his 11th season and another entering his ninth, Dallas is the second youngest team in the league’s top 10. Dallas’s group of Zack Martin, Dak Prescott, Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons clocked in at an average age of 26.8.
Vaughn, Schoonmaker get message, more from football greats in cool video :: NFLPA (Twitter)
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get a message from one of your childhood heroes? Players from the NFLPA #RookiePremiere got a pretty special surprise from @Fanatics in the #FanaticsLockerRoom.
Take a look 🎬 pic.twitter.com/90ybzs9hIt
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) June 8, 2023
Dallas Cowboys pay tribute to Allen mall shooting victims with custom T-shirts :: Dallas Morning News
McCarthy supplied the entire team with “Allen Str8ng” T-shirts for Thursday’s practice, the last one of minicamp, to honor the eight people killed in last month’s outlet mall shooting, which occurred about 10 miles from team headquarters. But McCarthy, who lives in Allen, hopes the gesture will motivate Cowboys fans to place orders of their own from Home Team Prints, the local company selling the shirts to support those directly impacted.
Check out the big brain on Cowboys' newest front office addition, John Park :: Cowboys Wire
The team beefed up their braintrust by hiring away the Colts’ director of football research. Park helped elevate Indy into one of the more data-driven clubs in the league and impacted everything from gameday decisions to free agency to the draft. Now he’ll be in charge of the data department in Dallas as director of strategic football operations.
