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IRVING, Texas – With the second phase of the offseason program starting this week, Cowboys coaches have been able to get on the field with veterans for the first time, but Mackenzy Bernadeau has not been among them.

Bernadeau, who signed a four-year, $11 million deal in March, has been slowed with an upper quadriceps injury that has limited his strength work and put into question his availability for the organized team activities later this month.

The Cowboys do not believe the injury is serious, but they do not want it to become a chronic problem.

“We want to make sure he’s healthy before we put him out there,” coach Jason Garrett said.

Bernadeau is projected as one of the starting guards, but he played some center during his first four years at Carolina.

“It’s one of the things we knew about him,” offensive coordinator Bill Callahan said. “He had played some center in the preseason with Carolina so he’s been exposed to that spot. He’s got that position flexibility so that’s a real positive. Yeah, he has that in him. I haven’t seen it as of late, but he did serve as a backup center in emergency situations, so he has taken snaps from what we’ve had in our conversations with him.”

IRVING, Texas -- Undrafted rookie free agent guard Ronald Leary from Memphis met with Cowboys doctors Thursday to review the results of an MRI on his left knee that revealed he has osteochondritis dissecans (os-tee-o-kohn-DRY-tis DIS-uh-kanz).

Known as OCD, it's a joint condition where a piece of cartilage, along with a thin layer of the bone beneath it, comes loose from the end of a bone.

According the Mayo Clinic, it's caused by reduced blood flow to the end of a bone. OCD occurs most often in young men, particularly after an injury to a joint. The knee is most commonly affected, although OCD occurs in other joints such as the elbow, shoulder, hip and ankle.

Last May, Leary underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee but he didn't miss any games last season for Memphis. But at the scouting combine this spring, several NFL teams backed away from Leary fearing his knee wouldn't hold up long-term.

"I know personally there’s nothing wrong with it," Leary said after Friday's first practice session for rookies and selected second-year players at Valley Ranch. "I just have to go out there and prove everybody wrong that I'm healthy."

This spring, Leary performed well at Memphis' pro day and held a private workout for Cowboys offensive line coach Bill Callahan.

The Cowboys are taking a risk with Leary because there's no telling when the knee will give way. Leary said several NFL teams called him during the draft to say they weren't going to select him, but rather offer him a free agent contract.

Leary was targeted by the Cowboys in the middle rounds and last week owner/general manager Jerry Jones said the team was taking a risk by waiting for the guard to not get drafted.

"[I was] disappointed because [you] always want to go higher," Leary said of his draft status. "I got a chance to be a Dallas Cowboy, you can't be disappointed by that. It's the greatest organization in the NFL, it didn’t happen the way I wanted it too but I'm loving it."

Leary, who didn't practice with any braces on Friday, said he doesn't need any future micofracture surgery, which might put a player's career on hold for at least one year.

"I try not to think about it because nothing is wrong with it" he said. "But I play with a chip on my shoulder, just everybody is doubting me and they say I'm not going to make it. So I'm out here to prove everybody wrong."

Terrell Owens comments on Junior Seau's suicide, discusses the backlash from his remarks about Tony Romo and more.



On Junior Seau's suicide:

"Nobody knows what I go through, day in and day out, to be a successful player, to help my team be successful. I want to leave out on a high note, too. We just lost an icon in the football world with Junior Seau. Nobody knew what he was going through. Last night I was up late going through my Twitter and I saw the interview with Marcellus Wiley who was a great, dear friend of Junior. Nobody knew, nobody knows what people go through, man. It's unexplainable.

"My heart goes out to his family, dude. I went through it dude, I saw his mom's interview. Dude, that's gut-wrenching to know a mom has to go through that. Honestly dude, I've been in that situation where you do feel like giving up because nobody understands the world that you live in.

"I think there's a lot of people that have been at that point. Me, other players. People look at us as invincible beings when we're playing such a macho game. A game that we play as kids but we're playing as grown men. And nobody understands that. Who knows what Junior was going through. Who knows."

IRVING, Texas -- The Cowboys will open their rookie mini-camp today with four players who spent most of last season on the team’s practice squad: cornerback Teddy Williams, cornerback Mario Butler, linebacker Orie Lemon and defensive lineman Robert Calloway.

Williams has been switched back to cornerback after moving to wide receiver last season. He joined the team in 2010 following a track career at UT-San Antonio.

Safety Justin Taplin-Ross will also get his first on-field work with the team. He originally signed last summer as an undrafted free agent out of Utah, but he failed his physical. He signed with the team after the 2011 season ended.

In addition to the Cowboys’ seven draft picks and 21 undrafted free agents, the Cowboys will have 15 players practicing on a tryout basis, including kicker Delbert Alvarado, who was with team in training camp in 2010.

The other players in for a tryout will be: K Tom Mante, QB Larry Smith, QB Nathan Dick, WR David Little, P Craig Ratanamorn, P Dave Harrington, RB Bryce Beall, CB Royce Hill, FB Jamize Olawale, LB Dorvus Woods, NT Myles Caragein, DE Luke Black, C Chris Thompson and DE Ben Bass.

IRVING, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys' rookie pool has been set at $5,714,522 million.

According to NFL figures, the Cowboys have roughly $2.145 million in cap space after signing Jermey Parnell to a three-year deal last week.

The rookie pool is essentially a cap within the cap, and the draft picks will count roughly $3 million toward the overall cap. The Cowboys will gain $6 million in salary cap space after June 1 because of Terence Newman's release. Currently, the Cowboys have enough money to sign all of their draft picks except first-rounder Morris Claiborne.

While some teams have already started signing draft picks, the Cowboys have waited until the last week before training camp to enter into talks with the players' agents. That approach could change this week.

The offseason started a few weeks ago with voluntary workouts for veteran players. Now, after last week's NFL draft, it's time for the rookies and the undrafted free agents to start putting in their work during the next three days at Valley Ranch.

The first of two practice sessions starts Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT.

What happens today: The Cowboys will have seven draft picks, 21 undrafted free agents and at least 10 tryout invitees work out this weekend at Valley Ranch. CB Morris Claiborne, the sixth overall pick of the draft, will be in attendance but he won't practice as he's still recovering from left wrist surgery.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Saalim Hakim, WR, Tarleton State: The brother of former NFL player Az-Zahir Hakim spent just one season at Tarleton State after playing at Palomar Junior College in California. Hakim, an undrafted free agent, caught 18 passes for 358 yards and two touchdowns for Tarleton State, including a game-winning catch against Texas A&M Commerce in 2010. Hakim missed the deadline to declare for the draft after his 2010 season and spent 2011 in the United Football League. Hakim has been clocked at 4.29 in the 40.

Lionel Smith, CB, Texas A&M: The speedy cornerback -- clocked at 4.44 in the 40 -- can play both spots. During his college career, Smith stripped Cowboys sixth-round pick James Hanna after a reception and stopped Iowa State's James White at the goal line. The undrafted cornerback will have to make this team on special teams.

Ronald Leary, G, Memphis: The Cowboys held a private workout for Leary with offensive line coach Bill Callahan. The Cowboys like his size because he can play both guard spots, but the undrafted free agent suffers from chronic knee problems and his long-term future is in doubt. The Cowboys are taking a flier with Leary. If he remains healthy, he could be the backup guard.

Matt Johnson, S, Eastern Washington: The Cowboys got a fourth-round pick who picked up 17 interceptions during his career. Johnson can play center field and near the line of scrimmage. Johnson gives the Cowboys comfort in knowing he has a habit of defending receivers at the point of attack.

Danny Coale, WR, Virginia Tech: The fifth-round selection gets a chance to impress the coaches by working out of the slot and playing both receiver spots. He's got the speed to play the position and runs good routes and displays good hands. But can he beat out a group of backup receivers, led by Kevin Ogletree, to make the final 53-man roster?

The other day, first-round pick Morris Claiborne talked about possibly getting some reps at wide receiver.

PODCAST
Cowboys first-round pick Morris Claiborne recaps his draft experience and talks about growing up a Cowboys fan and his expectations playing in Dallas. Listen

"I would love to be a two-way player," Claiborne told Galloway and Company on Monday afternoon. "If they gave me that chance to be able to go both sides of the ball, I'll love it and I won't turn it down. I'd get in and give it 100 percent."

It sounds nice to see if Claiborne can get a few snaps at wideout, but this isn't a good idea. The Cowboys have two solid wide receivers in Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant needs as many reps as possible at the position.

There are younger receivers who also need to get practice and game reps in Raymond Radway, Andre Holmes, Dwayne Harris and now rookie Danny Coale.

We don't believe coach Jason Garrett wants to see Claiborne at wideout. If he plays another spot, it'll be on special teams as a returner.

The Cowboys don't need to entertain this.

The secondary is where the Cowboys had their biggest problems in 2011 -- some would even say 2010 as well. And if that's the case, let Claiborne learn how to play the position in the NFL.

He was a standout at LSU -- even called the best defensive player in the draft -- so don't switch him to the other side when he needs to get the time in on defense.

Coming off an 8-8 season and consecutive seasons of missing the postseason, this is not the time to experiment.

"I'm very excited to get right in and get around those guys," Claiborne said of defending Bryant and Austin in practice. "Try to learn as much as I can learn from the receiver standpoint to the cornerback standpoint. And both of those guys are great, big receivers. I'm looking forward to getting some work in with them so they can make me better."

It's not time to get cute. Just play the position you're drafted to play and keep it moving.

On Wednesday, the league put out a press release announcing the dates of offseason team activities and minicamps. The full list can be found here. The rules state that teams may hold a rookie minicamp on one of the first two weekends after the draft and may also hold a mandatory camp for veterans. New head coaches can hold one additional voluntary camp for returning players, but there are no new head coaches in the NFC East this year, just as I continually assured you there would not be when you kept asking me that question throughout the 2011 season.

Here are the offseason schedules for our teams:

Dallas Cowboys
OTA: May 22-24, May 29-31, June 4-7
Minicamp: May 4-6 (rookies), June 12-14

New York Giants
OTA: May 23-24, May 30-June 1, June 4-5, June 7-8
Minicamp: May 11-13 (rookies), June 12-14

Philadelphia Eagles
OTA: May 22-24, May 30-June 1, June 4-7
Minicamp: May 12-14 (rookies), June 12-14

Washington Redskins
OTA: May 21, May 23-24, May 29-31, June 4-7
Minicamp: May 4-6 (rookies), June 12-14

Have the Dallas Cowboys really fixed their defense?

I'll give them cornerback. With the free-agent signing of Brandon Carr and the surprising trade up in the first round of the draft to pick Morris Claiborne, the Cowboys have worked hard to make sure that this year's starting cornerbacks will be much more difficult for Giants fullbacks to jump over. Assuming Claiborne is the instant-impact guy he was drafted to be, he, Carr, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick make one of Dallas' weakest 2011 units a 2012 strength.

But questions remain at other places on a defense whose total system failure was the sole reason the Cowboys lost four of their last five games and the division title. Is Brodney Pool an upgrade over Abram Elam at safety? Can they get reliable production from that other inside linebacker spot from the combination of Dan Connor and Bruce Carter? Will Anthony Spencer be a more effective pass-rusher? Do they have a plan for limiting the wear and tear on nose tackle Jay Ratliff, to help him maintain a high level of performance throughout the second half of the season?

The Cowboys' active and productive offseason has done nothing to directly address the pass rush. There is a theory that the improvements at cornerback will help the pass rush, since better coverage of receivers could give the men up front more time to get to the passer. And that may well be true. But any and all improvements the Cowboys have made on defense remain theoretical until we see that defense on the field. Last year, the party line in Dallas was that the defensive personnel were good and had underachieved and would improve in the first year under new coordinator Rob Ryan. That turned out not to be the case, and now some of the personnel have been changed. But it remains up to Ryan to put it together as a cohesive unit more capable of stopping opponents than the 2011 version was. Right now, we're taking the Cowboys' word that the new faces are dramatic enough upgrades to pull that off. But aside from the money spent on Carr and the high draft position of Claiborne, there's little outside evidence to support it. More could have been done to improve at safety, outside linebacker and defensive line, and it was not. Although Ryan may be able to make it all work, it's hard to feel too certain about it on May 3.

The Cowboys open rookie minicamp on Friday at Valley Ranch, and that makes me think about Dez Bryant, who is entering his third season this fall.

When Bryant went through his rookie minicamp in 2010, a mini-firestorm flared up concerning his conditioning -- or possible lack thereof. During his very first practice, Bryant was wheezing and bending over. On the last day of the session, he tweaked his ankle.

Bryant has battled through some health issues during his first two NFL seasons, but he caught 63 passes for 928 yards and nine touchdowns last season. He endured several games where he was almost non-existent in the second half, finishing third on the team with 370 receiving yards after halftime.

When the veteran minicamp begins in June, Bryant has to enter with the mindset that he'll be better this season. He's a better talent than Miles Austin, just not as polished. The Cowboys need Bryant to play much better than last season.

Bryant totaled 12 catches for 132 yards during the last two games of 2011. In the first meeting against the Giants, he had one catch for 50 yards. You can talk all you want about coverages and whether or not Bryant knows the routes, but you can't have a talent like Bryant finish with just one catch against anybody, let alone your divisional rivals.

The Cowboys need to find a way to get him the ball. Other good teams make sure their playmakers get the ball, so why can't the Cowboys?

Bryant led the Cowboys with 20 third-down catches that resulted in a first down. That being said, Bryant wasn't as good as Laurent Robinson when it came to finding open spots on the field when plays broke down and Tony Romo was scrambling.

One would think Bryant learned plenty from watching Robinson excel with Romo in those situations. And with wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson in Bryant's ear again, maybe things will get better.

When the rookies and undrafted free agents invade Valley Ranch this weekend and try to impress the Cowboys coaches and scouts, think about how Bryant started things.

Then think about how close he is to possibly becoming what the Cowboys expect him to be.

The Cowboys are expected to try out 10 to 12 players at this weekend's rookie minicamp. Punter David Harrington is one of them.

Harrington punted for two seasons at Idaho State, where he was a two-time first-team all Big Sky selection. He averaged 46.2 yards a punt in two seasons and in 2011 averaged 48.7 yards.

Chris Jones is the only punter on the Cowboys' roster and last year's regular punter, Mat McBriar, is still on the free-agent market. McBriar is recovering from offseason leg surgery and at some point has to show NFL teams he can punt on a consistent basis.

But with McBriar not here, the Cowboys might want to bring in some competition for Jones. He had only 10 punts on the season filling in for an injured McBriar, but he averaged 42.6 yards per attempt and had four land inside the 20.

McBriar was placed on injured reserve prior to the regular-season finale at the New York Giants. Jones punted six times in that game and averaged 42.3 yards, including a 54-yarder.

Harrington's final season at Idaho State was strong. He had 29 punts of 50 or more yards and 17 land inside the 20.

Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher has switched agents, leaving Bus Cook for Dallas-based Jordan Woy.

Recently, Woy signed Cowboys outside linebacker Anthony Spencer, who left Roosevelt Barnes.

Cook, by the way, is the agent for first-round pick Morris Claiborne.

What this means for Hatcher in the short-term is uncertain. Last year, Hatcher signed a three-year $6 million contract with the Cowboys with an $1.8 million signing bonus. Hatcher is scheduled to get $1.5 million in base salary in 2012.

In 2011, Hatcher had his best season with the Cowboys. He finished with a career-high 28 tackles, the most since his 27 in 2007, and also had a career-high 4.5 sacks. Hatcher also started 10 games and is the projected starter at right end for 2012.

With the Washington Redskins releasing wide receiver Jabar Gaffney it meant two of the NFC East's leading receivers from 2011 are gone.

The Cowboys lost wide receiver Laurent Robinson, who led them 11 touchdown receptions, when he signed a five-year $32.5 million deal. Paying Robinson that type of money was too much for the Cowboys because they have Miles Austin and Dez Bryant on the roster along with tight end Jason Witten, considered one of the best at his position, to help the passing game.

Gaffney was acquired in a trade last year and excelled for the Redskins. In two games against the Cowboys, Gaffney had 12 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown. But this offseason the Redskins signed Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan in free agency and it became clear Gaffney was expendable.

It's interesting to note just how fast things change in the NFC East with the Redskins and Cowboys, who at the end of the 2011 season were on the bottom half talent wise in the division.

Washington will have a new quarterback and two new starting wideouts to start the season, the Cowboys will have a new starting running back and quite possibly two new starting cornerbacks as well.

The head coaches remained the same, but you have to say the talent level at the top of the division remains with Philadelphia and the New York Giants.

Cowboys fifth-round pick Danny Coale talks about his road to the NFL and his chances of competing for a starting wide receiver spot in training camp.



On his chances of competing for a starting receiver spot

"Well my goal is just to compete, and come in there and try my hardest, work my hardest. Whether it be special teams, receiver, whatever I’m willing to do it. Whatever. So, I want to come in there and compete on everything I can, and at the end of training camp if that, if I find myself in that spot then that would be terrific but I’m just, my goal right now is short term just to go in there and compete, and get coached up, and learn as much as I can and we’ll see where it takes us."

On getting compared to Patriots WR Wes Welker

"I get it frequently, which is, it’s a tremendous honor to get compared to someone like that. He does things that, if I have a fraction of the success that he’s had I would call it a success. I think we’re similar and I think we’re different, but it’s really nice to get those comparisons."

When rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne takes the field at some point this summer, he's going to wear No. 24.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones held up the No. 24 jersey at Claiborne's introductory news conference at Valley Ranch last week and talked about Everson Walls and Larry Brown having worn it previously for the team as outstanding cornerbacks for the franchise.

The number is connected mostly to Walls, one of the Cowboys' greatest defensive backs.

"It was pretty cool," Walls said Tuesday when asked about Claiborne wearing his number. "I'm from Dallas and we don't have any official retired numbers. It's an unspoken rule nobody will wear Roger's number (No. 12)."

Roger being Roger Staubach, the Cowboys' Hall of Fame quarterback.

Walls wore No. 24 from 1981-89 before Larry Brown claimed it in 1991. Other players who have worn the number since include Roger Harper, Omar Stoutmire, Vashone Adams, Tony Dixon and recently retired running back Marion Barber.

"A pleasant performer," Walls said Barber. "He came through and brought a little shine to the number. I was proud he had my jersey."

Walls, who many Cowboys fans and former players believe should be in the team's Ring of Honor, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He led the Cowboys in interceptions five times, tied with Terence Newman for the most in franchise history, and his 44 picks are second all-time in franchise history. Walls also led the Cowboys with 11 interceptions in 1981, the most in a single season for the team. In 1985, he had nine picks -- third-most in a single season for the Cowboys.

For Walls, seeing Claiborne get his old number is a sign of respect for his accomplishments.

"The expectations are extremely high for him," Walls said. "I thought it was an honor they thought about me in that way. I was never upset at all, I saw [Claiborne's] accomplishments and they're exceptional. They're expecting him to keep it up. He's a player who can make plays on the ball and when I saw they brought out my jersey, I said it's cool."