NFL teams
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Cowboys' Travis Frederick says neck OK, unlikely to play Saturday

NFL, Dallas Cowboys

OXNARD, Calif. -- After suffering a number of stingers in practice over the past few days, Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick sought out neck and spine specialist Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles to make sure he was not dealing with a more severe injury.

"Specifically because stingers deal with your neck, and that's something I think is a pretty important part of your body," Frederick said. "So I just made sure I was safe for the long term."

Frederick said Watkins confirmed there were no other issues. Because the Cowboys are training not far from Watkins' offices in Southern California, Frederick said the timing was right to make the visit now, rather than have to fly back later for a second opinion.

He said he is not sure when he will practice again, which means he probably will not play Saturday against the Cincinnati BengalsĀ on the Cowboys' home field at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys will hold their final practice Thursday here in Oxnard, then return home Friday before suiting up against the Bengals. The Cowboys are off again Sunday and will hold their first summer practice at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on Monday.

Frederick said rest is the best therapy at the moment.

"It's just like any other injury: When you have inflammation, you've got to get that inflammation out of there, and then it's fine," Frederick said. "Something that's already inflamed and you bang it again, it continues to be inflamed."

Joe Looney replaced Frederick with the first-team offense on Wednesday. The Cowboys lost center/guard Marcus Martin for the season to a toe injury. Drew Stanton worked with the second team at Wednesday's practice. In the regular season, the Cowboys could always count Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin as an option if Frederick goes down.

Frederick said he had an issue with a stinger two years ago but did not have a recurrence.

"This time, I had several over the course of a couple of days, so when that happens, it starts to aggravate itself," Frederick said. "It just needs a little bit of time to rest and get the inflammation down."

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