IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant said his surgically repaired right foot has been cleared medically, but he and the team are being cautious in his return.
"We're just going to take this thing day by day," Bryant said. "I feel good mentally and I think for me that's the most important thing right now."
Bryant had X-rays on the foot last week, and he was cleared for more drill work. He went through individual drills Tuesday, but coach Jason Garrett said Bryant was backed off that Wednesday.
The Cowboys hold their three-day minicamp next week to conclude the offseason.
"We don't really like the word 'cautious,'" Garrett said. "We're just going to be deliberate with our players. Anybody who's coming off an injury we just got to make sure we're deliberate in bringing them back. Dez did some individual work [Tuesday]. He was really good his first day back ... We'll bump him up if we feel like we want to, but we don't anticipate him practicing fully at all in the minicamp but hopefully he will get some productive work in."
The Cowboys open training camp in Oxnard, California, in late July, and Garrett said he expects Bryant to be 100 percent. The coach said he anticipates the same for Orlando Scandrick (knee) and Gavin Escobar (Achilles).
"Again, the way we talk about these injuries is we try not to be too predictive about when guys are coming back," Garrett said. "We take it day by day. We have a plan for them and then we adjust as they go. Each of those guys at every step, every threshold we've had for them, they've crossed those thresholds really in a very favorable manner. They're making progress. They're doing things the right way. They're all working hard. We'll just continue day by day, week by week."
Bryant went through Wednesday's workout, but spent the bulk of practice in the weight room working on his rehab.
"The coaches be teasing me with that stuff, man," Bryant said jokingly about his walk-through work, "bringing me out there just for a little bit." But it beats what Bryant was doing last offseason. He made just one organized team activity and one minicamp practice, although he did not participate, after the Cowboys put the franchise tag on him. He signed a five-year, $70 million deal on July 15, and did not go through his first workout until training camp.
"Just being around my teammates and just having the feel of seeing everybody, having conversations with everybody, I think that's what a lot of people don't realize," Bryant said. "You need that to help boost your confidence and just learning new things on the field, technique-wise or in the film room, like all those plays that are big factors for Sunday games. Just by having that back is going to do a lot."