The Cowboys are expected to visit with about 30 prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft over the next two days.

Players such as Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall, Texas' Limas Sweed, Arkansas' Felix Jones, Oregon's Jonathan Stewart and Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are expected to arrive at Valley Ranch sometime this week.

The Cowboys are expected to meet with about 15 players each on Thursday and Friday. The players for Thursday's visits should arrive Wednesday evening.

The Cowboys will use the visits to get one last evaluation of these players, who will tour the facilities and meet with owner and general manager Jerry Jones, head coach Wade Phillips and their prospective assistant coaches.

"We've interviewed almost everyone that's coming here tonight and tomorrow at the Combine," Jones said Wednesday. "I've had the chance to meet some of them at other places from time to time at many awards ceremonies. This will be a more personal one. I'll get to visit with them tonight and tomorrow. Those are important to me; just getting to know someone is really good and then you basically reconcile that with what you've got from the scouts and the fall report, and that gives you a pretty good picture."

Other prospects expected to visit include Troy cornerback Leodis McKelvin, Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason and Oklahoma receiver Malcolm Kelly.

Last Friday, the Cowboys held a Dallas Day workout for about 30 players who either attended college or high school in the area.

Among the players in that group were TCU defensive end Tommy Blake, Texas defensive tackle Frank Okam and Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley.

Emphatic Yes

One-word answers don't always mean much. Sometimes they could say a lot more.

So make your own interpretation of Jones' answer Wednesday when asked by local reporters if he would consider making a draft-day trade for a veteran receiver such as Roy Williams, Chad Johnson or Anquan Boldin.

"Yes," Jones said before a long pause, followed by a smile and a wink.

The Cowboys own the 22nd and 28th overall picks in the upcoming NFL Draft (April 26-27) and there has been speculation that all three of those receivers could be dealt for a first-round pick.

Johnson has made it clear on several occasions, including again on Wednesday, that he has no intention of playing for the Bengals next year and has told the team he wants to be traded "as soon as possible."

However, Cincinnati would take a major hit on the salary cap if Johnson was either traded or released, absorbing more than $8 million of his prorated signing bonus.

Although the Lions have stated they have no plans to trade Williams, that seems like more of a logical stance with Williams entering the final year of his contract in Detroit.

Preseason Set

One day after releasing the 2008 regular season schedule, the Cowboys officially finalized their preseason schedule as well, announcing the dates and times for all four exhibition games.

The second preseason game - a road meeting with Denver - will be played Saturday, Aug. 16 (8 p.m. CDT) at INVESCO Field at Mile High.

The Cowboys will break training camp in Oxnard, Calif. before traveling to Denver for the game, en route back to Dallas for the final two preseason games.

The Cowboys play Houston on CBS as the national game at home on Aug. 22 and then Minnesota on Aug. 28 for a Thursday night game as the final tune-up before the regular season.

The first preseason game will be Aug. 9 in San Diego, just a short flight south from Oxnard, where the Cowboys will train for the fourth time in the last five years.

Here's a look at the preseason schedule:

Sat., Aug. 9 - at San Diego (KTVT/CBS 11) - 9 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 16 - at Denver (KTVT/CBS 11) - 8 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 22 - vs. Houston (CBS) - 7 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 28 - vs. Minnesota (KTVT/CBS 11) - 7 p.m.

Short Shots

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he was pleased with the Cowboys' 2008 schedule structure and wasn't disappointed that the club's final Texas Stadium game (Dec. 20 at Baltimore) won't be against a division rival like the Redskins. "Not at all because of how Baltimore, (owner) Steve Bisciotti, (president) Dick Cass, those guys are people that are good friends and Dick's a former associate with the Cowboys and me for about 16 years. Good to be playing him . . . Foundation56, the personal foundation of Dallas Cowboy and Former LSU All-American, Bradie James, will donate $60,000 to fund breast cancer programs and services aimed at early detection, screening and treatment on Sat., April 19 in Baton Rouge, La.