According to a report by ESPN Dallas, Cowboys sources say that Terence Newman is unlikely to play in their Week 1 matchup with the New York Jets.
Publicly, Jason Garrett considers him uncertain for the game.
The degree to which he has to practice, we don’t have any concrete rules about it, but you have to practice. We have to have a great feeling about him having prepared on the practice field before playing in the game Sunday night.
Newman injured his groin just days into this season’s constricted training camp and was given an expected recovery time of 4-6 weeks, which puts his likely return sometime in the first three weeks of the season. If Newman is unavailable, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick and Alan Ball will be the top three corners against the Jets.
Jenkins has been out for most of camp as well with a neck stinger, but he has been able to return to practice for the past several days. He is expected to play, even though he has not undergone contract drills.
The Dallas secondary will have to contend with Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason, meaning that Ball could be asked to cover Holmes or Burress out wide in nickel situations.