The Cowboys used Monday’s practice in Oxnard to send a message: nothing is settled, and Brian Schottenheimer is willing to stir the pot to find better answers.
It was Dallas’ first practice since the preseason Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks, and the team did it without pads. The next padded session won’t come until Tuesday, when the Cowboys face the New Orleans Saints in their latest joint practice.
Before practice, Schottenheimer made it clear that personnel changes were coming after the preseason opener.
“We’ve made some adjustments. We’re creating competition, and you guys will see some of those today," Schotty said.
"All of the guys have been informed of why we’re making those decisions. Nothing is finalized, but we’re trying different combinations of people.”
“Some guys have earned the right to move up and get different reps, and other guys maybe need to play a little bit better and might lose a rep or two. We’re a long way from being done," Schottenheimer added.
Once the workout started, those words showed up everywhere.
On the injury front, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Phil Mafah (ribs), Israel Abanikanda (ribs) and Jaydon Blue (ribs) were limited after injuries from Preseason Week 1. Jonathan Bullard (groin) stayed out, and rookie Michael Trigg (toe) was added to the report and did not practice.
There was better news elsewhere. Zion Childress, Jaishawn Barham and Devin Moore all returned to full practice after missing multiple sessions. Childress had been sidelined the longest.
Schottenheimer followed through on the personnel shake-up, and the most notable change came along the second-team offensive line. Dallas lined up Drew Shelton, Trevor Keegan, Nick Leverett, T.J. Bass and Nate Thomas from left to right.
That was a shift from Week 1, when Shelton worked on the right side, Thomas was on the left, Bass handled center and Ajani Cornelius was at right guard. Leverett got the biggest promotion in the rearranged group.
The move made sense after the line’s rough outing against Seattle. Outside of Bass, the unit struggled, and Shelton had the toughest day of all.
The rookie gave up three pressures and two quarterback hits and finished with a 34.5 Pro Football Focus grade. It was his first live NFL action, so there’s still plenty of runway.
At running back, Malik Davis was the first man up behind Javonte Williams. With Blue, Mafah and Abanikanda all limited or out, that rotation probably shouldn’t be overread. If Davis is still getting those reps when everyone’s healthy, that would tell a more interesting story.
At quarterback, Joe Milton worked as QB2 ahead of Sam Howell. Schottenheimer had already suggested before practice that Milton was still behind Howell in the backup race, but Milton’s strong preseason debut seems to have helped him. Schottenheimer still wouldn’t say who will start in preseason Week 2.
There was also movement at cornerback, where Devin Moore took first-team reps over Caelen Carson. Carson had a solid game overall in the opener, but his three penalties - including two on one drive that helped set up Seattle’s only points - are the kind of mistakes that can change how coaches view a player. He still looks like a roster candidate, but he may need to clean things up to keep his spot near the top of the depth chart.
Barham, meanwhile, jumped right back into first-team work when Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown weren’t on the field, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. Winters and Overshown are still ahead of him with the starters, so the rookie remains LB3 for now. Even so, he’s close enough to the front of the line to keep this battle interesting.
While the defense has been giving the offense plenty of problems throughout camp, Monday belonged to Dak Prescott and company. Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com said Prescott and the offense “dominated today's practice - in a big way.”
Todd Archer noted touchdown catches for George Pickens, KaVontae Turpin and Jake Ferguson. Turpin scored on a deep throw from Prescott, while Pickens and Ferguson both made one-handed grabs.
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