Cowboys news: Travis Frederick injury scare roils Cowboys Nation

Let’s get the big event covered up front.

Jason Garrett: Travis Frederick having shoulder checked out by medical expert - Dave Halprin, RJ Ochoa, BTB
It was kind of scary when Jason Garrett announced Travis Frederick was having a medical expert look at the problem of stingers in his neck.

What’s the status with Travis Frederick?

He is having his shoulder checked out, he’s had some stingers lately and so we sent him to get it evaluated. Somewhere here or in Texas? Somewhere in Los Angeles. Is this related to him taking some days off at camp? Yes.

Is this an issue that Frederick hasn’t had before? He hasn’t had this issue before. Could it be a surgery situation? We’ll have more information later, don’t want to get into anymore now.

Dr. Robert Watkins in LA is the one examining Travis. Garrett also noted that the team will likely have more information by the end of Wednesday.

Frederick Getting Shoulder Evaluated in L.A. - Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
The mothership is usually the most authoritative source on things Cowboys, and they were maintaining that this was all precautionary.

Cowboys center Travis Frederick spent the early part of Wednesday in Los Angeles getting an extensive evaluation of a lingering shoulder problem that has plagued him here during camp.

“He’s had some stingers here the last couple of days,” head coach Jason Garrett said of Frederick. “We want to make sure he gets that checked out.”

Frederick left camp Wednesday morning but should be back later in the day.

Garrett sounded as if the Cowboys were being more precautionary with the injury and wouldn’t speculate on how the team might be affected if Frederick misses significant time.

Fortunately, it looks like things are good with Frederick.

Cowboys’ Travis Frederick says neck OK, unlikely to play Saturday - Todd Archer, ESPN
The man himself spoke about what was going on.

“Specifically because stingers deal with your neck, and that’s something I think is a pretty important part of your body,” Frederick said. “So I just made sure I was safe for the long term.”

“It’s just like any other injury: When you have inflammation, you’ve got to get that inflammation out of there, and then it’s fine,” Frederick said. “Something that’s already inflamed and you bang it again, it continues to be inflamed.”

“This time, I had several over the course of a couple of days, so when that happens, it starts to aggravate itself,” Frederick said. “It just needs a little bit of time to rest and get the inflammation down.”

OK, on to the less traumatic topics.

Tavon Austin In Space: Cowboys comps made to Irvin & Steph Curry - Mike Fisher, 247 Sports
Tavon Austin has been everything the Cowboys could hope for on the field so far. And he is trying to have an even bigger impact than just with the ball in his hands.

Austin concedes that last season with the Rams, maybe his work ethic slipped a bit. Maybe he felt less than wanted. And certainly a problem with his wrist and his hamstring contributed to struggles.

As a result, his numbers were by far the poorest of his career as he finished with only 13 catches for 47 yards and 59 carries for 270 yards. But Dallas is looking for a two-way rebound, back to 2015, when he registered 52 carries for 434 yards, plus had 52 catches for 474 yards, totaling nine TDs.

That'd be a pretty good supplementary weapon in the Dallas offense. In the meantime, that "Irvin-ish'' trait is helping the Cowboys get through the dog days of camp. The electric presence of Dez Bryant is gone. So is the class-and-trash(-talk) presence of Jason Witten. Just as you can sense that new defensive assistant Kris Richard is trying to fill that gap with high-octane action, so is Austin.

How Dak & WRs Are “Starting To Really Click” - Rob Phillips, DallasCowboys.com
It is still developing, but the chemistry between Dak Prescott and his receivers has really started to show in camp.

The Cowboys know defenses will try to crowd running back Ezekiel Elliott unless the offense threatens them downfield. (Tavon) Austin is the team’s fastest receiver, and (Deonte) Thompson has deep speed when healthy, too.

“We’ve got some guys that really stretch the field,” Prescott said. “We knew coming into the offseason and then going into training camp that was a part of our game that we needed to strengthen and we needed to get better.

“If not, they’re just going to sit on the underneath routes. We’ve got let them know that we can beat them over the top and make them pay otherwise.”

Cowboys Need An Encore And More From These Players - Ben Grimaldi, Pro Football Talk Line
There's another preseason game on Saturday. This list shows some players who need to have a good performance to improve their chances of making the roster, including these two.

Lance Lenoir

The young receiver has made quite the impression in training camp and he hauled in a sweet touchdown catch against the 49ers last week. Lenoir was on the outside looking in when camp began but has worked his way into the conversation to become one of the last wide receivers kept. Another strong showing against the Bengals would continue his momentum towards making the roster in September.

Antwaun Woods

Woods appeared to be an afterthought heading into camp, having no substantial playing time with the Titans before coming to the Cowboys. However, Woods has risen through the ranks and was in the 49ers’ backfield on a number of plays. Word has it the team is still looking for help on the interior of the defensive line, but Woods can make that talk dissipate with another impressive performance this week.

Ezekiel Elliott: New helmet rule won't have much impact on my game - Jon Machota, SportsDay
The new helmet rule has been the source of much concern going into this season, but no Cowboys player was flagged for it during the first preseason game. Maybe they have a handle on things.

Ezekiel Elliott said his running style won't change because of the new rule.

"I think it's just all for the better of the game," Elliott said. "I think they're trying to protect players. You see a lot of neck injuries, you see a lot of spine injuries, you see a lot of head injuries. They're just trying to protect us players. I don't think it will really affect my game much. It's just the league trying to take steps forward and preserve the players in this league.

"I don't think it is really so much for running backs. I think it's really more for defenseless players. Most of the time, running backs, you're not going to be a defenseless player unless you're catching the ball, so a lot of times it's going to be a receiver."

Gregory Says Drug Ban Was “Self-Sabotaging” « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth (via AP)
While he is not giving out details, Randy Gregory continues to let people know that his suspension was about a lot more than just wanting to get high.

“I was self-sabotaging,” Gregory said Monday in his first group session with reporters at training camp in California. “Anybody that deals with what I have to deal with and what I’ve gone through and understands the process of what I’ve been through, I think can understand there’s also a mental aspect to it along with emotional.”

Gregory was suspended three times in less than a year, the last a yearlong ban for multiple violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy. He missed the 2017 season and waited an extra six months to apply for reinstatement to try to improve his chances.

The Cowboys have never cut one of their premium draft picks under Jason Garrett, will that change? - DannyPhantom, Blogging The Boys
The sentiment is growing that the Chaz Green era is coming to a close in Dallas.

The Cowboys third-round pick of 2015, Chaz Green, may not make it through his rookie contract. It’s been rough for the offensive lineman out of Florida. After in injury-plagued college career, Green carried that reputation with him in the pros. He had hip surgery his rookie season and never played. Over the next two seasons, he played in 18 games, starting six of them. The team used him as backup tackle, filling in for an injured Tyron Smith as well as starting him at guard early in the season last year. Green struggled at tackle last year in what will be remembered as the “Atlanta-game debacle” to where he was sent to the bench for deeper offensive lineman reserve, Byron Bell.

Cowboys WR Darren Carrington full scouting report - Sean Martin, Cowboys Wire
The roster churn is fully underway for the Cowboys. And Darren Carrington, one of the recent additions, may be more than just a camp body.

Carrington joins Jeune, Deonte Thompson, Allen Hurns, Michael Gallup, K.D. Cannon, Terrance Williams, Noah Brown, Lance Lenoir, and Cole Beasley in a crowded WR corps for Dallas.

With Brown missing significant portions of his second training camp with the Cowboys so far, keep an eye on who can potentially take his spot on the final roster.

Lenoir has impressed and the Cowboys offseason star should have a real edge over the rest of the field for a final spot at WR.

Should Carrington be motivated to put his past behind him and make a name for himself with the Cowboys, they’ll be getting much more than just an upgrade over Murdock. This is an NFL-ready receiver with the ceiling to be a highly productive scoring threat for any offense.

Jaguars Jalen Ramsey Rates NFL QBs - Mike Fisher, 105.3 The Fan
Jalen Ramsey made a headline or two with his sometimes acerbic review of NFL quarterbacks. While he doesn't heap praise on Dak Prescott, he doesn't cut him down, either. And his overall point is, well, nothing but the truth.

"Dak Prescott, he's good,'' Ramsey says. "He's alright. He's okay. I'll put it that way. [Ezekiel Elliott] runs that team, though. Everything runs around Zeke.''

When you review Ramsey's thoughts of the rest of the league's QBs, you come to realize that "good and alright'' are relative compliments.

Broncos Fans Start Crowdfunding Page so Team Can Cut Paxton Lynch - Rob Goldberg, Bleacher Report
Just had to include this for fun. Remember how the Cowboys tried to trade up in 2016 to draft Paxton Lynch, but got outbid by the Denver Broncos? And had to settle for Dak Prescott? Yeah, things kinda worked out for the best - in Dallas, at least.

A fan in Colorado set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to help the team release the quarterback, with a goal set of $600,000.

"Raising money to cover the Denver Broncos cost of cutting Quarterback Paxton Lynch off of the team roster," the page's description reads.