Cowboys DE Lawrence Trying To Avoid "Setbacks"
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FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - DeMarcus Lawrence is not at all fond of the suggestion that he experienced a "setback" in his recovery from offseason back surgery. But the fact is, he did far less at practice on Wednesday than the Dallas Cowboys indicated, ramped it up a bit on Thursday, and is now slated to possibly be a spot player debuting Sunday against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revealed on 105.3 The Fan back on September 27 that Lawrence had some physical limitations as he prepared to end his four-game drug suspension. Tank didn't agree with that diagnosis but, this week, coach Jason Garrett acknowledged that the defensive end -- who led Dallas in sacks a year ago with eight, the sort of numbers this 3-1 team could really use -- was limited in Wednesday's workout in his return from a four-game suspension.
Lawrence worked on the side while the team practiced.
"Hopefully," Garrett said, "he can progress as the week goes on."
The end of the week is here. Progress in the injury department -- for a club already dealing with issues with Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Chaz Green and Orlando Scandrick -- would be timely.
Still, as Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said, they want Tank to be healthy when he returns. "You want the guy right," Marinelli said. "Not just one of the eight guys up, but it's also about him, too. We've got to make sure he's ready to go and feeling good and all those things."
I don't think that Lawrence starts at right DE this week; maybe that comes in Week 6 in Green Bay. For now? Let's see if he's "right" enough to play in situations -- without any of those disagreeable "setbacks."