Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant participated in practice for the first time in more than two weeks on Wednesday, getting in a limited session after sitting out to give the hairline fracture in his knee time to heal.
Bryant said that the work was “much needed” even if he doesn’t wind up making his return to the lineup in Green Bay this weekend and that he expects Friday to be the crucial day to determine whether he will play. The Cowboys are on a bye week after facing the Packers, which may be a consideration as Bryant shares owner Jerry Jones’ aversion to pushing anything too far too fast.
“Don’t have to worry about making it worse, which I feel like I can’t at this point,” Bryant said. “It’s only getting better. What we’ve got going on here is extremely amazing, and you don’t want to force anything. ... You want to take your time. You want to get everything right. You don’t want to be back and be half-stepping. You don’t want to be doing none of that. If I play, I’m going to be rocking and rolling. I’m going to be going full speed.”
The Cowboys have left the door open to Bryant playing the last two weeks in spite of his absence from the practice field. Now that he’s gotten back into the mix, a return to the lineup on gameday doesn’t feel too far away.