Dallas Cowboys’ first-round rookie Tyler Guyton has hit a speedbump in his first ever NFL offseason: He’s dealing with an illness that’s kept him out from almost a week’s worth of practices.

With a preseason game being played this weekend, one has to wonder if the rookie left tackle will be suiting up. The first step toward that would be getting some participation in team drills on Thursday’s joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams, which he did not do after attempting to get on the field. Instead, it was all Chuma Edoga and Asim Richards on team drills.

Before practice began, however, McCarthy gave a cryptic update on Guyton’s status, claiming that he is unsure of where the left tackle is in his recovery from illness.

“I think the biggest thing with Tyler is, how many reps are we going to be able to get him?” McCarthy told reporters ahead of Thursday’s joint practice. “He’s obviously been ill, he’s missed some time. I’m not a 100% sure he is 100%.

“You just have to be smart with him and his return to play.”

Thursday might have provided a better answer for the Cowboys in terms of where they believe Guyton to be, as they seemingly decided not to have him practice after he tried to give it a go. At this point, it seems like him missing the preseason opener can’t be fully ruled out if the head coach is preaching patience and “being smart” with his return. Time will tell, though.

Naturally, it would be important for him to play as he needs all the reps he can get before the regular season starts, considering he’s likely to earn the starting role over Edoga. That being said, the Cowboys brought Guyton in for the long run and taking care of him will be the team’s priority.