Dallas Cowboys: News and reactions from the first team OTAs
By Kip Gaudette
The Dallas Cowboys began their first organized team activity this week. Here is a quick look at some of the news and reactions.
The biggest news out of this week’s commencement of the Dallas Cowboys OTA’s was a notable absence. Running back Ezekiel Elliott was involved in a car accident on Sunday, and was held out of activities.
According to a report on the Cowboys official site from Rob Phillips, head coach Jason Garrett had this to say about Elliott’s condition:
"“We learned about it on Monday morning,” Garrett said. “He was a passenger in a car accident on Sunday night. When he came in on Monday he had some body stiffness and some neck stiffness. So we got him checked out.”"
No serious injuries to Elliott have been reported at this time. If this all feels somehow familiar, recall that Zeke was also involved in a car accident before last year’s playoff game with the Green Bay Packers. Despite the accident, the rookie back went on to rush for 125 yards in the heart breaking loss.
On the Rico Gathers watch, one analyst seems to think he’s the second coming of Kellen Winslow Sr. Answering a question on his Twitter account about the performance of the second year tight end, columnist Mickey Spagnola responded:
The next Kellen Winslow. https://t.co/jQqPrrc9jQ
— Mickey Spagnola (@Spags52) May 24, 2017
Incredibly high praise. Sadly, the day will come when future Hall of Famer Jason Witten will retire. It will be a fantastic win for Dallas if Gathers can become a special player at the position now.
Everyone is likely salivating for an active Jaylon Smith appearance, but as of this writing, Smith continues to be limited. Either Smith is not ready to go full speed or the Cowboys staff is playing it safe.
And finally, DallasCowboys.com football analyst Bryan Broaddus reported that rookie receiver Ryan Switzer is putting on a show in the absence of Cole Beasley and Lucky Whitehead. Both Beasley and Whitehead are out with minor injuries, and Switzer is apparently showing off his skills in the slot receiver position.
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In summary, it appears that “so far, so good.” Any positive news coming from OTA’s on younger players making an impression is a hopeful sign of things to come. And Cowboys Nation has dodged what would’ve been a devastating loss had Elliott been seriously hurt.