The Dallas Cowboys gave DeMarcus Lawrence a hefty payday earlier this offseason. The Cowboys defensive end also received surgery on his shoulder—preventing him from participating in OTAs and minicamp.

Although, the Cowboys are “encouraged” by Lawrence's rehab from his shoulder surgery. Of course, Lawrence required surgery to help repair a torn labrum he's been dealing with.

So far, it's kept him out of OTAs and minicamp but that hasn't prevented him from being a leader on the practice field. Even Jason Garrett has taken notice of the defensive ends improved leadership.

“He's really grown into a really good leader and our guys look to him,” Garrett said. “The pace he sets, the example he sets for everybody else has been really positive.”

It's great to see Lawrence begin to mature after he's shown some character issues with the Cowboys. Recently, Dallas managed to reach a long-term deal with Lawrence worth $105 million over five years.

Undoubtedly, Lawrence is one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL so allowing him to get healthy is of the utmost importance. It's likely that Lawrence begins training camp on the physically unable to perform list alongside Byron Jones.

Jones also received surgery this offseason but for a knee injury. According to Garrett, both guys are on or ahead of schedule in terms of their rehab. The Cowboys head coach also said he expects both to be ready by Week 1 of the regular season.

“There are a number of guys who have been out and coming back from surgeries. We feel good about the timetable of all of those guys,” Garrett said. “Each of them has handled their rehab the right way, so they're all on schedule if not ahead of schedule.”