The Sports Xchange

IRVING, Texas — Wide receiver Dez Bryant practiced with the Dallas Cowboys for the first time since fracturing his right foot in the season opener. He was limited in practice but it was step toward him playing against the Seahawks Sunday.

“We’re going to give him a certain amount of work and see how he’s handling it,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said before practice. “We’ll try to give him more as we go, and we’ll see how he does with the whole day’s work, see what he’s able to do tomorrow.

“He’ll come in and we’ll say, ‘How are you feeling?’ You just monitor day by day, hour by hour, and determine what your next moves are.

“No guarantee that he’s going to play this week. We’re going to try to get through today and see how he responds to the work that we have.”

A bone scan showed Bryant’s right foot fully healed, Garrett said.

“Yeah, medically cleared to practice on a limited basis today, and we’ll see how practice goes,” Garrett said. “Excited to have him back, though.”

–Defensive end Randy Gregroy played only eight snaps and had two quarterback pressures against the Giants last week in his first game action since suffering a high ankle sprain in the season opener.

His snaps should increase against the Seahawks Sunday as the rookie second round pick continues to work his way back into football shape, having missed so much time.

“I’m trying to get there,” Gregory said. “I think they’re trying different ways to get me on the field as far as like moving me around and things like that. But I think they want to take it as slow as possible, getting me out there in the right situations and things like that.”

–Cornerback Byron Jones’ playing time has increased, making him a big part of the Cowboys defense.

The first-round pick played 40-of-53 defensive snaps last week against the Giants, all at safety, and made seven tackles and defended against two passes. He subbed for starting safeties Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox on different series during the game, and Jones also received playing time in the nickel and the dime packages.

“Byron’s done a good job,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “So you want to get those guys out there. He played a lot against New England, covering (Rob) Gronkowski and did a good job with that responsibility. He’s an interesting guy because he can play both corner and safety.

“We just wanted to give him some chances out there, and the way the plan was this week, we felt like rotating him in a series or so each half was the best way to get him out there. And I thought he handled the work well.”

–The Cowboys haven’t had a takeaway since Week 2, and haven’t had a takeaway in five of their six games. Looking for reasons why the Cowboys are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, other than the loss of wide receiver Dez Bryant and quarterback Tony Romo, losing the turnover battle is a good place to start.

The Cowboys defense prided itself on turnovers a year ago but now can’t get one. The Cowboys have a minus-9 turnover differential. Coach Jason Garrett agreed that is the biggest reason for the losing streak.

“Absolutely,” he said.

NOTES: Running back RB Darren McFadden will start against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday after gaining 152 yards on 29 carries against the New York Giants. It was his most carries since 2012. Running back Joseph Randle (strained oblique), who McFadden is replacing, missed practiced on Wednesday and is questionable for the Seahawks game. … Linebacker Mark Nzeocha, who is on Reserve/NFI, returned to practice on Wednesday. He is still on the reserve list, and no roster move was needed. … Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (back strain) missed practice on Wednesday and is listed as questionable for the Seahawks game, but is expected to play.