OXNARD, Calif. -- Darren McFadden's training camp debut with the Dallas Cowboys is expected to come next Saturday, according to coach Jason Garrett.
McFadden is on the active/physically unable to perform list as he works through a hamstring strain suffered before the team arrived in Oxnard, California, for training camp.
If the plan holds, then McFadden will miss the first 11 practices of training camp and the preseason opener against the San Diego Chargers next Thursday.
“We anticipate his plan to be that he’ll get more and more work on the side as we go this week and then hopefully practice after the San Diego game,” Garrett said. “That might change, but that’s the plan as we sit right now.”
The Cowboys’ first practice after they play the Chargers is Aug. 15, which kicks off a span of four straight practices, including two against the St. Louis Rams on Aug. 17-18.
“It’s not precautionary. It’s just being very deliberate with his rehab and making sure a guy who has these soft tissue injuries, we want to make sure they’re really ready to go before we put them back out there,” Garrett said. “I’ve said that in regards to about five different guys in training camp, we don’t want to say, ‘OK, let’s get them out there this afternoon and then all of a sudden you lose them for two weeks.’ We’d rather have them work on the side, work on the side, really be prepared for it, do all the stuff with the cords and with the ball and with the cleats and try to simulate as much as you can before you put them back out in that situation. Darren has done a very good job staying engaged with our team, very good in meetings, very good in walkthroughs, he’s around it, he understands it. We just want to make sure he’s ready to go before we put him out there.”
Defensive end Kenneth Boatright will be released from a local hospital on Saturday, his agent, Brett Tessler, tweeted. Boatright suffered a neck injury on Thursday. He has full movement and all of the tests came back negative.
Cowboys DE Ken Boatright is being released from the hospital today... They'll continue evaluating him & there's no timetable for his return.
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) August 8, 2015Boatright was hurt in a helmet-to-helmet collision with Tyron Smith during offensive and defensive line drills. A CT scan was negative.
“We feel like everything has gone well up until this point,” Garrett said.
