OXNARD, Calif. -- Cowboys second-year linebacker Jaylon Smith is expected to go through some contact drills when the team practices in full pads Wednesday, according to a team source.
It would be Smith's first time going through contact since suffering a torn ACL and nerve damage before being drafted in second-round last season.
The Cowboys will continue to be guarded with Smith's recovery, the source said, but the progress he has made has Smith and the team confident enough that it is time for him to take the next step -- actually going through football-related activity.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett spent a large portion of their camp-opening news conference Sunday praising the work Smith has done to come back from a devastating knee injury that he suffered in the final game of his Notre Dame career.
"The biggest thing for us is we're going to take it day by day," Garrett said. "He's made great progress because his approach, it's a laser-like focus on what he needs to do each day. The strides he's made has been fantastic. And one of the reasons we as an organization took a risk on Jaylon is because of the kind of young man he is. He had a very serious injury but we bet on him because of the kind of guy he is and he hasn't disappointed.
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