Cowboys expect Allen fit, ready for camp

Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said his sitdown talk with previously persona non grata offensive lineman Larry Allen earlier this month, while short, was effective. <br/><br/>Not only does Parcells expect

Friday, May 28th 2004, 5:43 am

By: News On 6

Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said his sitdown talk with previously persona non grata offensive lineman Larry Allen earlier this month, while short, was effective.

Not only does Parcells expect Allen to be in attendance when minicamp begins June 5, but Allen has been running with strength coach Joe Juraszek at Valley Ranch to get himself into better shape.

"I'm hoping it works," Parcells said. "It would be in everybody's best interest. We'll see when the time comes."

If Parcells' assessment of Allen sounds guarded, it really isn't. In fact, it is downright glowing compared to what it had been.

Until recently, Allen's chances of playing left guard for the Cowboys in 2004 looked only slightly better than Jessica Simpson's. Cowboys officials had uninvited Allen to off-season workouts at Valley Ranch, and Allen had been telling friends and former players that he wanted to play elsewhere.

But when a draft-day deal, which would have sent Allen to Detroit for a third-round pick, fell through because he refused to rework his contract, the question became whether the Cowboys would try living with the veteran lineman or without him. Parcells said at the time Allen had a few things he needed to attend to before he would be welcomed back.

Parcells said Thursday, while at Cowboys Golf Club in Grapevine for a tournament, that those things had been resolved to his satisfaction. Allen is not lifting weights with his teammates, but he is running and doing what is asked of him.

"I'm not that close," Parcells said. "My strength coach is the one mostly who deals with Allen, and he tells me it is going well."

Things are going so well, in Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones' opinion, that the Larry Allen farewell is over. Not only is he expected to be playing for the Cowboys this season, but he is expected to play at a high level.

"He is the healthiest I have seen him in the last three years," Jones said. "He's in as good of shape as I've seen him, not the last three years, but as good a shape as I've seen him, and he's working as hard as I've seen him work.

"You add all of that up and you say 'it's a done deal?' I don't even want to imply that it might not have been considered a done deal."

If so, it shores up one area of concern. The others might be resolved June 1.

While a repeat of last season's post-June 1 roster carousel is not expected, the Cowboys are not likely to sit idle. Don't be surprised if quarterback Vinny Testaverde is brought in if the Jets cut him. And, if the Packers cut cornerback Mike McKenzie, the Cowboys could be interested.

"We have a couple of things in mind right now, and I say at least one definitive thing, and I'm not at liberty to get into it right now," Jones said. "But we've got some ideas, and we just have to see if the opportunity presents itself."