Cowboys WR Bryant out 4 to 6 weeks with sprained ankle has 1 comments

Jul 31st 2010, 10:16 | FFN-Score: 34 points

Rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant could miss the rest of Dallas Cowboys training camp after the first-round draft pick suffered a high right ankle sprain near the end of practice Friday in San Antonio. The team said he will be out four to six weeks.

"It's nothing complicated, nothing out of the ordinary about the high ankle sprain," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "It was a textbook high ankle from what we saw on the MRI. He ought to be able to stay off of it without surgery and get back out there. He will be in the walking boot for a week to 10 days. Four to six weeks is the standard. We will see how long it will be."

Bryant became entangled with cornerback Orlando Scandrick while trying to catch a pass that was thrown behind him on the next-to-last play of the day. It quickly became apparent that something was wrong.

Bryant didn't immediately get up, and when he finally did gingerly get to his feet while taking his helmet off, he took only a step before falling back to the turf. Bryant was reaching for his ankle and grimacing in obvious pain. Two trainers who checked on him helped him off the field.

Though the Cowboys have an extended camp with five preseason games because of their game in Canton, Ohio, next weekend, the injury could keep Bryant from playing until the regular season. Dallas' last preseason game is at home Sept. 2, which is five weeks away. The season opener is Sept. 12 at Washington.

After Bryant had been evaluated by doctors, the team announced in a camp update more than two hours after practice that he would be out the extended time.

Scandrick said right after practice that he initially believed Bryant was OK because the receiver "started to get up."

While Scandrick then said Bryant had tweaked an ankle a couple of days ago, coach Wade Phillips said the rookie receiver wasn't being bothered by any issues before practice Friday.

Phillips said Scandrick did nothing wrong on the play as Bryant tried to catch a pass from backup quarterback Jon Kitna.

"(Scandrick) made a play on the ball. That's what we expect," Phillips said. "The ball was thrown behind the guy."

The Cowboys have two practices scheduled Saturday and two more Sunday, one week before their preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals as part of Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend.

Bryant impressed on the field the first seven days of training camp, making routine and spectacular catches in individual and team drills. He also has been returning kicks, but he now will have an unwanted break.

Dallas already was without another of its top three draft picks.

Linebacker Sean Lee, a second-round selection, has been sidelined the past few days with a quadriceps strain, but he hopes to return this weekend. Safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, a fourth-round pick, hasn't practiced at camp because of a hamstring injury while coming back from offseason shoulder surgery.

"You don't like to see them out. If it happens, you have to deal with it," Phillips said.

"The rest of the receivers, we've got to step up," wide receiver Patrick Crayton said about Bryant's injury even before the extent of it was known. "You never want any teammate, especially a receiver, to get hurt."

Crayton was given permission to seek a trade this offseason, then skipped most voluntary workouts after the Cowboys drafted Bryant 24th overall in April. But Crayton was at all mandatory workouts this summer and has worked hard as always during camp.

Bryant was limited to just three games at Oklahoma State last season because of his NCAA suspension for lying to investigators about a meeting with former Cowboys star Deion Sanders, an NFL Network analyst. But Dallas traded up three spots to take Bryant.

Before Bryant was hurt during the Cowboys' 10th practice session, everything had been good on the field for him during camp.

"We do have an extra week, which (Bryant) has taken advantage of, being here and learning all those things," Phillips said. "He's actually done real well as far as assignments are concerned."

The only hiccup at camp had been Bryant's refusal to carry veteran teammate Roy Williams' shoulder pads after practice last Sunday. Bryant said then that he was drafted to play football and not carry another player's gear.

But two days later, after the story spread quickly and widely, Bryant said he was unaware of the rookie ritual and that everything was OK with Williams and the rest of his teammates. Bryant said he had no problem without another rookie ritual of paying for meals.

Bryant arrived before the start of camp after becoming the first of the NFL's first-round picks to agree to a contract. He received a five-year, $11.8 million deal that guarantees him at least $8.3 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.