Cowboys’ James Washington evasive about injury questions at OTAs

The Dallas Cowboys OTAs are underway and old and new roster members are at The Star to get offseason programming done. Although quarterback Dak Prescott is excited to be back and healthy for the first offseason in a while, it seems like there may be cause for concern about some of his teammates.

On Wednesday, a practice local beat reporters were allowed to attend, many Cowboys press members noticed some players were hurt or not practicing. Most notably, the team’s new external free agent signing, wide receiver James Washington, was seen walking around with a boot on his foot and not practicing.

In addition to Washington, the Cowboys’ website noted that Osa Odighizuwa, Carlos Watkins, Tyron Smith, and Jalen Tolbert were all out with injury. According to reporters, Tolbert should be ready to go as soon as next week. However, with the wide receiver room already thin after the loss of Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson and the absence of Michael Gallup, more injuries (minor or not) are not what this team needs.

When reporters tried to get more information about what was happening with Washington, he declined to get into specifics. That almost ups the concern even more, no? We know that in the past the Cowboys have tried to downplay injuries, and all we can hope is that this is not that. For example, the team constantly assured the press that Ezekiel Elliott was “fine” during the season and then revealed that he had a partial PCL tear after the 2021 season.

Several Cowboys players, including receivers James Washington and Jalen Tolbert, were out with injuries at OTAs

It’s also important to note that there were no previous injuries reported when the Cowboys picked up Washington from the Steelers. Here’s what the receiver did say:

"“I really just went home one night after working out and it didn’t feel quite right. It’s nothing serious. More precautionary. I’m sure I’ll be back next week.”"

While it is only May, it’s hard not to think of a walking boot as something noteworthy, especially for a frontrunner to replace Gallup in the first few weeks of the season.

The good news was that less experienced receivers got to get some meaningful reps in. Players like Simi Fehoko and Noah Brown lined up for passes alongside Lamb on Wednesday. The Cowboys obviously hope that a healthy Washington will help fill some major gaps come September. Let’s all hope that this “precaution” is truly just that.