FRISCO — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked Wednesday what he needs to see from recovering receiver CeeDee Lamb to know he’s okay to play: “Yeah, if he’s breathing, I’d feel pretty good,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver was one of 10 players listed as limited in Wednesday’s practice from The Star, leading to a possible return. Lamb missed the last three games with a sprained ankle, suffered in Week 3 at Chicago.
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Also, returner/receiver KaVontae Turpin was limited with a sprained foot. Turpin is on target to play Sunday against Washington after missing the previous two games.
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Rookie right guard Tyler Booker missed the last three games with a sprained ankle. Booker got some limited work in practice as well.
During the recovery process Booker was so focused on returning, he rode a stationary bike, called Assault Airbike, wearing a protective boot, to stay in shape.
“That was huge for me cause the only way you can get in football shape is by playing football,” Booker said. “So I was trying to emulate that as much as I could. Being on that assault bike helped me a lot in college getting in shape, staying in shape throughout the season. So being on that was super helpful. I was very determined to get back on the field; I want to pick up where I left off.”
The return of three starters is beneficial to the Cowboys’ offense; however, they rank No. 1 with 387.5 yards per game and third overall at 29.7 points per game.
Turpin’s absence has been noticed in the return game, so getting him back is important and Booker can provide a boost to the run game, which averaged a season-low 1.6 yards per carry in the Week 6 loss at Carolina.
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The Cowboys passing game has moved smoothly without Lamb. Receiver George Pickens has scored four touchdowns and produced two games with over 125 yards receiving in the three games Lamb has missed. But Lamb is clearly a primary target, evident by his 222 receiving yards in the first two games of the year. He didn’t have a catch in the Chicago game, where he was injured.
“But the biggest thing honestly I make light of it because we’re excited that they’re trending to play and all that stuff,” Schottenheimer said. “But the biggest thing is there is a ramp-up. Can [Lamb] play 85 plays if we have to? He’d probably want to, but we’ll be smart about what we do with him. And I just want to see how they move today, but then it’s almost like how do they feel tomorrow? Hey, I feel really good or Yeah, I’m a little sore. Those are things you’re looking for but with all three of those guys coming back and trending into practice we’ll know more tomorrow.”
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