With Columbo back, Cowboys' OL have first workout together
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys finally had all five of
their starting offensive lineman -- a big group on which the team
spent a lot of money -- working together in training camp Saturday.
Right tackle Marc Colombo, who missed the first 15 camp workouts while recovering from right knee surgery, returned to the field Saturday. With Columbo back, it marked the first time all five expected starters practiced at the same time.
"I've been doing a lot of work on the side. It's been a smooth transition so far," Colombo said after practice. "I felt good."
With the starters in place, the Cowboys front five averages 6-foot-6 and 324 pounds. That includes the massive Leonard Davis, who at 6-6 and 354 pounds is actually lighter than last season in Arizona.
Elsewhere in NFC camps:
Chicago Bears: Chicago's rookie running back
Garrett Wolfe returned to practice Saturday for the first time
since a hamstring injury sidelined him the second day of training
camp.
Wolfe participated in the individual drills, but is being brought back slowly.
"I wanted to do as much as possible," Wolfe said. "The training staff here is great and they're not going to allow me to hurt myself again. I just have to follow their lead."
In Saturday's practice, starting running back Cedric Benson received his first substantial rest, and Adrian Peterson practiced with the first team.
"Once you go through a week or so, most of the guys, your skill players, can use a day off," coach Lovie Smith said. "Cedric was a little sore. So I had him get a few individual reps and I kept him out the rest of the time. He should be back out on the field tomorrow."
San Francisco 49ers: Nate Clements and Tully Banta-Cain
are the new tone-setters for the San Francisco 49ers.
Both players signed lucrative free-agent deals during the offseason, and both were emotional leaders making big plays Saturday afternoon during the team's intrasquad scrimmage.
The 49ers conducted about 75 plays of game-simulated action before a crowd of 4,000 at the team's training facility. Clements and Banta-Cain got the crowd into the action, waving their arms at the stands and getting vocal on the field.
"We were brought here expected to make some kind of impact on this defense, and we look to ourselves to take the onus to do that," said Banta-Cain. "As a defense, it gives you energy when guys are kind of jazzed up and running around making plays and getting the crowd into it. It sends a message and has a chain effect."
Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals wound up their
first week of training camp under new coach Ken Whisenhunt on
Saturday with a workout that started badly but ended well.
Several thousands lined the practice field on autograph day and, for a while, especially for the offense, it was not a pretty show.
"You know what? I hope they understand it's one day of practice," Whisenhunt said. "We built a pretty good week. A lot of people have seen that and recognize that."
After Whisenhunt broke up the controlled scrimmage and had a few words with the players, the defense played better and the offense finished strong, capped by a pair of touchdowns in a full-contact goal-line drill.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.



