OXNARD, Calif. – After a brief turnaround from the team’s preseason opener against the Steelers in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday night, the Dallas Cowboys will host the Los Angeles Rams for a joint practice on Saturday. The practice will commence at 5 p.m. Central Time as both NFC teams hit the grass for non-tackling situational work. In terms of physicality, the practice may not be the most exhilarating but will produce “quality work” and “lower the risk” of injury in comparison to prototypical preseason games, per Mike McCarthy. The practice will be streamed on DallasCowboys.com and will air on TXA-21 for local viewers in the DFW metroplex. The scrimmage will essentially provide a fifth preseason game in terms of matchups for both squads during training camp, as the two storied franchises go head-to-head in Oxnard.
Here are some notable keys for the upcoming practice:
Mike McCarthy confirmed quarterback Dak Prescott will not be throwing the football on Saturday as the staff continues to use precautionary measures with his strained right shoulder muscle. They will use caution and monitor his status on a day-to-day basis but there is no set timeline on Prescott’s return to full work at practice.
The practice will act as a simulation to a game-like scenario, with “probably 65-70%” of the club’s starters being featured in team drills. Both left tackle Tyron Smith and right tackle La’el Collins will be participants. Collins made his debut against Pittsburgh, but Smith did not make the cross-country trip to Canton. The visual of both at the line of scrimmage will be a welcomed sight for fans.
Both McCarthy and Rams’ head coach Sean McVay have had several conversations in preparing for Saturday’s practice. In discussing the script with reporters, McCarthy elaborated on the drills that can be expected. The afternoon will cover a lot of ground as both teams work to hit every situation. “We’ll start with special teams and then we’ll have a seven-on-seven red zone, one-on-one D-Line rushing…then we’ll go with the seven-on seven red zone and a team backed-up drill, then a team red zone, a team third down. Then we’ll have a full move-the-ball segment where you just call it and move the field, put the ball down and play. Then we’ll finish with two-minute.” After Dallas’ red zone struggles reappeared against Pittsburgh, with an inability to capitalize with a touchdown, the seven-on-seven red zone drill will be a pivotal one.
