Cornerback Patrick Peterson slowly leaves the field after suffering a concussion during Sunday's game.
Cornerback Patrick Peterson hurried to the training facility Tuesday morning, excited to pass his concussion test and head out for a round of golf on his day off.
It was a great sign to be cleared for practice, coming closer to be cleared for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. But the second part didn't quite work out once his wife, Antonique, a medical student, got wind of the plan.
"The doctors said I could play, but the doctor at home said I couldn't play," Peterson said. "I wasn't able to play golf. I went around in my backyard and just putted around a little bit."
While Peterson took it easy on Tuesday, he was back practicing with the team on a limited basis Wednesday, just four days after a scary collision in the Cardinals' 24-20 win over the Eagles. Peterson played 27 snaps before getting knocked from the game when safety Deone Bucannon drilled Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who ricocheted into Peterson. He said he had a momentary loss of consciousness after the hit.
"It was scary for me," Peterson said.
Peterson said he will use a different helmet now with more padding and said he's thankful the injury wasn't more severe.
"I'm counting my blessings that I am OK, that it was nothing serious that could hold me back a couple games," Peterson said. "It was a bang-bang play. Like coach said, it was friendly fire. We're moving forward. This is a violent game. I can't play the game (worrying about getting) hurt. You have to play the game to make plays."
ROMO 'S BACK LEAVES HIS SUNDAY AVAILABILITY IN QUESTION
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo's status for Sunday's game is in question after he sat out practice Wednesday. Romo missed a portion of Monday night's loss to the Redskins after taking a shot to the back, although he later returned.
He said if it's a pain tolerance issue, he will start.
"That part of it has never been an issue for me," Romo said during a conference call with Arizona reporters. "I think the other part is you just have to make sure that you can function, you can go. If we can get to that point, we'll go."
Romo missed the final game of last season with a herniated disc which required surgery but coach Jason Garrett said this back injury is unrelated.
"It came as a result of the hit he got when he had a linebacker come down the 'A' gap," Garrett said. "I think Tony just tried to turn away from it and got hit in the back, so it's really just a result of that. Just dealing with that. These kinds of hits happen a lot in the NFL. Sometimes if you get them on the right spots they can be difficult to deal with."
Romo is averaging his fewest yards per game through the air (249.8) since becoming a full-time starter in 2007, but only because he's throwing less with the emergence of star running back DeMarco Murray. Romo is on pace for the best passer rating of his career at 103.6. His backup, Brandon Weeden, was 4-of-6 for 69 yards and a touchdown during the period Romo missed against Washington.
"Hopefully as the week goes on we'll get a better reading on how painful it is for him to be able to do that he needs to do, and we'll make the right evaluation for him and our team," Garrett said.
JOHN BROWN DOES THE PEANUT BUTTER JELLY
Wide receiver John Brown's 75-yard touchdown has been the talk of the locker room this week, but not because it gave the Cardinals the go-ahead points against Philadelphia. His Cardinals teammates were more interested in his end zone celebration.
"I didn't see it until we watched the film on Monday," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "He's got some moves. He didn't learn those from me, that's for sure. That must be a Florida thing."
Brown said he has a touchdown dance ready to go each week, and smiled wide when asked about this one's inspiration.
"It's a Miami dance," Brown said. "The rapper Trick Daddy, that's something he brought out. I was like 12 years old. I was good at it. I wanted to see if I still had it. My family, they're always like, 'You're stiff. You won't dance anymore.' That's one of my best dance moves."
When Brown went out to eat with family members after the game, they re-lived the moment over and over.
"They talked about it all day," Brown said. "My little brother is actually trying to learn the Peanut Butter Jelly now."
JEFFERSON MISSES PRACTICE
While Peterson has been cleared, safety Tony Jefferson missed practice on Wednesday as he continues through the concussion protocol.
"He feels very good today, so we feel encouraged that he'll go through the test tomorrow," coach Bruce Arians said.
Running back Stepfan Taylor (calf) missed practice and called his injury a week-to-week proposition after Arians ruled him out for Sunday. Taylor said it was frustrating suffering an injury a week after scoring two touchdowns against the Raiders.
"It's annoying," Taylor said. "You want to be out there on the field. Hopefully I'll be out there sooner rather than later."
Tight end Troy Niklas (ankle) returned to practice on a limited basis, while running back Andre Ellington (foot) and linebacker Kenny Demens (knee) were also limited.
For the Cowboys, linebacker Rolando McClain (shoulder), guard Ronald Leary (groin) and tackle Doug Free (foot) did not practice. Defensive end Jack Crawford (calf) and defensive end Anthony Spencer (knee/foot) were limited.
