FRISCO, Texas — Week one has officially arrived in the 2023 NFL season as the TV gear up for an immediate divisional clash against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
On Monday, the Cowboys held their first practice of the week as key contributors made some big plays in the media session and injury notes were abundant.
Here is what was observed in today's practice session open to the media:
- KaVontae Turpin made arguably the play of the day when he went up high to pull in a reception between two defenders along the sideline. His usage in the offense will be fun to break down coming out of week one as he's set himself up to take on a bigger role offensively than what he did in 2022.
- Brandin Cooks also got in on the action during practice as he got loose downfield with his world-class speed and hauled in a touchdown grab with the closest defender being at least five yards behind. Soon after, Cooks went up high in the back of the end zone to reel in a perfectly placed ball from Dak Prescott before acrobatically getting both feet in bounds for another score. With his Cowboys debut coming in just six days, the excitement is building for what Cooks can do offensively in 2023.
- Tyler Smith walked off the practice field towards the end of the session open to the media and was followed out by head athletic trainer Joe Maurer a couple of moments later. There's no immediate speculation or clarity on what exactly happened, but it'll be something to monitor going deeper into the week.
- Sam Williams (turf toe) was spotted in street clothes towards the end of the media session, as his status also remains unclear going into the week. His absence from practice on Monday allows for some pessimism on his status moving forward.
- Donovan Wilson (calf) has been out since the first day of training camp, and his status is unclear moving closer to the season opener. Head coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday morning that he's "not ready to put a status on him" but that he's "getting close." During practice, Wilson was working on the resistance ropes with director of rehabilitation Britt Brown with a sleeve on his left leg. *
