DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Cowboys officially welcomed nine-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters into the fold when they signed the 40-year-old to their practice squad on Labor Day. But with the season kicking off on Sunday, Peters' status for the opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is up in the air.
The Cowboys are unlikely to force Peters into the lineup for Sunday Night Football based on the comments he made during his first visit with the media at The Star on Monday.
Peters said he'll need a "couple of weeks" to get ramped up after not participating in training camp this offseason, but later added, "you never know what will happen. If I feel good enough, I'm going to jump out there."
Peters was expected to participate in individual drills only for his first practice with the Cowboys on Monday.
During an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sounded more pessimistic about Peters chances of debuting on Sunday, speaking about the necessity of bringing the 17-year veteran along slowly right now.
“We want to be prudent and recognize this isn’t his first year. In other words, we’ve got to ease him along,” Jones said Tuesday on Shan and RJ. "[Malik] Hooker is a good example of that. But Hooker was coming off an Achilles injury. And, so, when he came on last year we eased him into it. We had him in training camp early. You just saw the kind of patience you want to have because you don't want to just do the obvious and go out there and have an early setback. And you should honor the years that he's played relative to that risk. With all of that in mind, it will be hard not to have him in."
Jones also said Peters' playing time will be determined by how well rookie Tyler Smith is performing at left tackle to begin the season.
Smith took over the starting job after All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith suffered an avulsion fracture of the knee and was ruled out for a majority of the season. Smith began practicing exclusively at left tackle last week after he spent the entirety of training camp competing for the starting left guard spot.
Jones said he's seen Smith's "power," but has also viewed his "shortcomings" in practice. He added that those shortcomings are "fixable."
Should Smith struggle early on, the Cowboys will have Peters to turn to. However, Peters, who has started 218 of the 228 career games he's played in, isn't concerned if he gets an opportunity to start, and is prepared to mentor the 21-year-old this season.
"It don't matter. Whatever they ask me. If Smith gets in there and starts rolling and they want to keep him. I am just going to help him," said Peters, when asked about his role with the team. "I ain't no guy who is going to feel some way if I don't start."
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