Amobi Okoye practiced for the first time yesterday, and the clock has officially begun ticking. The Cowboys have three weeks to decide whether they want to activate the former first-rounder or keep him on the reserve/non-football injury list.
Regardless, practicing was a big step in the right direction for the 27-year-old. Okoye is recovering from anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a brain condition that causes memory loss and seizures. This resulted in Okoye spending three months in a coma last year. Following such a traumatic experience, the defensive tackle was thrilled to return to the field (via Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com)…
“It was good, it was worth it,” said Okoye. “It was mixed emotions. It felt like it naturally was coming back. I’ve played six years in the league [and], it doesn’t take too long for stuff to come back to you.”
Linebacker Bruce Carter was impressed by his teammate’s determination to return to the game…
“He’s been through a lot,” Carter said. “His story is amazing. A guy like that who works real hard, I see him all the time working [with strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Woicik] one-on-one. Just to see him actually working with [us] and see it pay off is a great thing. I think he’s going to do great things for us.”
Let’s see what else is happening in the Cowboys organization…
- Owner Jerry Jones attributed the release of Michael Sam to “a numbers game,” tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com. Jones clarified that Sam was great at practice and worked “very, very hard.”
- Members of the Cowboys’ 2013 draft class are already contributing to the team, and Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com points to first-round pick Travis Frederick as the best of the bunch.
- The Cowboys have enough money under the cap to fit a veteran, but Archer doesn’t believe the team is going to be active at the trade deadline.
- Despite DeMarco Murray‘s hot start to the season, Bob Sturm of The Dallas Morning News would still move on from the veteran in free agency if the team could draft a stud running back like Georgia’s Todd Gurley. Since the team won’t have that foresight, Sturm believes the team should franchise the running back.