OXNARD, Calif. — Jaydon Blue and Zion Childress were limited in Thursday’s practice, Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. Blue is working through a shoulder injury. Childress is coming off a hamstring injury that kept him out for more than two weeks.
Blue hurt the shoulder in Saturday’s preseason opener at Seattle. Schottenheimer disclosed the injury Tuesday and said the Cowboys were monitoring it, per DallasCowboys.com.
Dallas drafted Blue out of Texas in 2025 and signed him May 13 of that year. He played 5 games as a rookie and carried 38 times for 129 yards. Injuries slowed him through his first training camp and preseason as well.
Javonte Williams returns as the lead back. Behind him, the competition thinned out in Seattle. Phil Mafah and Israel Abanikanda both came out of that game with rib injuries. Mafah carried 4 times for 9 yards and added a 6-yard reception before leaving with a chest injury.
Malik Davis and Abanikanda have taken more first-team reps than the rest of the room during camp, and Schottenheimer said both earned them.
Zion Childress Returns From A Two-Week Hamstring Absence
Childress landed on the camp injury report Aug. 1, one of four players held out of the third practice of camp. On Aug. 8, Schottenheimer said Childress was on track in his rehab but that it would be “a little bit of time still” before he practiced again.
He returned to full work Monday, two days after the preseason opener, alongside Jaishawn Barham and Devin Moore.
Moore is a fourth-round rookie in a crowded cornerback room, and a groin injury cost him practice time in Oxnard.
“Very, very talented young man,” Schottenheimer said. “It was good to see him get some reps in the joint against the Saints and get him matched up on an elite receiver like Olave. He was in really good position.”
“He’s still kind of getting his legs up underneath him in terms of the power, and that’s a big thing that we look for with DBs, his lower body explosiveness and the ability to change direction,” Schottenheimer continued. “He was in good phase but just didn’t necessarily have his legs under him yet, and that’s all part of the process as we get him back into practice and get more reps and becoming kind of unlimited in his role and his reps.”
Childress signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2025 out of Kentucky. The Cowboys elevated him to the active roster from the practice squad Sept. 13 last season and returned him to the practice squad two days later. He spent part of his rookie year with the Houston Texans as well.
Across five college seasons at Texas State and Kentucky, Childress played 62 games with 40 starts and finished with 283 tackles. He was a two-time team captain at Kentucky.
The Safety Room Around Him
Caleb Downs, the 11th overall pick in April’s draft, headlines the group. Malik Hooker, Jalen Thompson, and P.J. Locke are also in it, and all three missed practice time in Oxnard. Thompson signed a three-year, $33 million contract in free agency this offseason and is expected to start. Locke signed for one year and $5 million in March.
Locke hyperextended a knee on the first day of camp and missed several practices before returning Aug. 4. Thompson sat out with a hip issue in the same stretch.
Dallas allowed 511 points last season, the most in the NFC East. The Cowboys finished 7-9-1. Christian Parker took over as defensive coordinator this offseason.
Thursday is the Cowboys’ last practice in Oxnard. Dallas plays at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. The preseason ends Friday, Aug. 28, against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium, with kickoff at 7 p.m. CT.
