Masked Men: Cowboys Practice FIRST LOOK; Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith, Who's Sick?

Head coach Mike McCarthy makes it clear that the Cowboys would be taking every precaution to prevent further spread of the non-COVID illness ahead of the Giants visit on Thanksgiving.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys locker room features a lot of talent ... and a nasty bug. And so, with Tuesday marking a second day of multiple players reporting here into The Star feeling sick, a head count is in play ...

And so is the wearing of masks inside team HQ.

The assortment of Cowboys who are dealing with excused absences over the course of the last 24 hours as the 7-3 team preps for a Thanksgiving visit from the 7-3 New York Giants includes defensive linemen Johnathan Hankins, Dante Fowler and Tarell Basham along with cornerback Kelvin Joseph.

Those four players were not working during the media-open portion on Tuesday.

Last week, before the win at Minnesota on Sunday, punter Brian Anger dealt with an illness but did play, while defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna was scratched due to illness.

Head coach Mike McCarthy made it clear to us on Tuesday that the team would be taking every precaution to prevent further spread of the non-COVID illness.

#COWBOYS Tuesday practice - sick guys missing … Dak & Tyron doing their things .. Throwback Helmets breaking in … FULL COVERAGE https://t.co/XpImtdZWO4 pic.twitter.com/WQ2mCItBNb

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) November 22, 2022

Meanwhile, Dallas - with a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff on Thanksgiving Day at AT&T Stadium - is also monitoring the health of Micah Parsons (knee, ankle), DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) and Ezekiel Elliott (knee), though all three are expected to play in NFL Week 12.

Lawrence and Anthony Barr (hamstring, likely not playing Thursday) were not at the opening of practice.

Of Parsons, team owner Jerry Jones said, "His physical durability is amazing. We're expecting him to go.''

Parsons was not present during the media-open portion of the workout … but some of his linebacker buddies were working in their throwback helmets …

Of Lawrence, McCarthy said: "He is having an exceptional year. I think this is the best I've seen him play. So much is made of sacks, but I just love how he plays first and second down, his tenacity in the run defense. ... To do it on all three downs, DeMarcus is exceptional."

Dak Prescott made an early appearance at the session …

Wearing his throwback helmet ...

And Tyron Smith was in uniform, working on the cords with trainer Britt Brown. ... part of a plan to return that we detail here.

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