ARLINGTON, Texas — With projected starting safety Xavier Woods iffy to play in the regular-season opener at the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 9 because of a hamstring strain, his replacement, Kavon Frazier, was unable to finish Sunday’s preseason game because of a separated left shoulder.
The long-term prognosis did not seem to be too concerning after the Cowboys’ 27-3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
“If it was the regular season I would’ve come back in,” Frazier said. “I would’ve been right back in. They just wanted to be cautious because it was a preseason game.”
Frazier was hurt when he broke up a pass down the seam to tight end Ricky Seals-Jones with 9:56 to play in the first quarter. Frazier said he attempted to pop his shoulder back into place before leaving the field. He eventually returned later in the first quarter but did not go back in the game.
Frazier said he will undergo more tests on Monday but X-rays at the stadium were negative.
“I knew what it was,” Frazier said. “I was more so worried that it was my collarbone, but the X-rays came back clean, and when they popped it back in, it felt fine.”
Woods has not practiced since suffering a hamstring injury last week against the Cincinnati Bengals and he could miss the opener as he recovers. Jeff Heath, the other starting safety, has battled a sprained ankle and illness the past two weeks.
When Frazier left, he was replaced by undrafted rookie Tyree Robinson. The Cowboys signed two safeties, Jeron Johnson and Dominick Sanders, last week to help with their depth.
The Cowboys have been linked to Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas, who has been sitting out of training camp, for the entire offseason. While the teams had discussions in February and April, executive vice president Stephen Jones said at the start of camp there have not been any recent talks.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was not too worried about Frazier’s status after the game, but he acknowledged the safeties have been hit hard by injuries.
“We’ll look into some guys that we think can step in there,” Jerry Jones said. “It’s like any of these positions and you can get thin real quick.”