IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Amobi Okoye no longer wonders if he will play football. To him, it's a question of when.
It's a question for the Cowboys, too.
Okoye is eligible to come off the non-football injury list as he comes back from a brain disorder that left him in a coma for parts of 2012 and out of football. He was cleared in August for full football activities, but the Cowboys chose to put him on reserve/NFI, which keeps him out of the first six games of the season.
The Cowboys do not have to activate Okoye off NFI until Nov. 3 at which time opens up another three-week window in which he can practice but not play. After that window closes, Okoye will have to be added to the 53-man roster, remain on NFI for the rest of the season or cut.
The Cowboys signed him to a two-year deal in the offseason, knowing his return would take time.
Okoye has been working on his strength and conditioning with coach Mike Woicik, but he has not been in full pads since Dec. 30, 2012 when he was with the Chicago Bears. He has not let himself think about what his first game -- whenever that is -- will feel like.
"I'm just letting it freewheel," Okoye said. "I'm excited. I'm anxious. At the same time I'm curious."
Okoye was diagnosed with anti-NMDA encephalitis, a potentially lethal brain injury that includes seizures and memory lapses, in 2013.
He's curious, "just to get back to the things," he said. "I've been out for a while so I'm just curious about when I get back how things will respond, how your body responds."
Okoye played for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli in Chicago. If he plays this season, they hope he can be a part of a defensive tackle rotation, not a starter. He just wants to get on the field again.
"I feel a ton better," said Okoye of his workouts during training camp, "but time will tell. We're just taking things slowly and taking them the right way. We're just going to see how things go."
