For the first time on an extremely small scale, McGee was able to show those skills at the rookie minicamp, and Jones, "liked the way he threw the ball."

McGee admitted he has a lot to learn about the Cowboys' offense after running through Friday's morning practice.

"[Romo's] one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, so that's about as good a compliment as I can get," McGee said.

"I don't think I'm close to anything that resembles No. 9 right now. I've got a long way to go, a lot of offense to learn. I'm excited to be learning from a guy like Tony Romo. It doesn't get any better than that, and a guy like Jon Kitna, a guy who's played 14 years, that's pretty awesome."

Ware contract talks: Throughout the off-season, the Cowboys have said signing DeMarcus Ware to a long-term contract extension was the top priority. With the draft over and free agency slowing to a trickle, the time seems right to pick up the pace of the talks.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team made an offer "a while back" to Ware and called the talks "ongoing."

"We could get something done in three days if that's the mind-set of the other side," Jones said. "If it's not, then you can't do anything either, so you take your time. We've had success with some in five days. Some have taken a month. Some take 12 months. You never know what's going to happen."

More controversy: NFL Network aired footage this week of a production meeting held before last season's Ravens- Cowboys game that showed analysts Warren Sapp and Deion Sanders debating the Terrell Owens controversy.

After Sanders downplayed the issue, which ESPN had reported as stemming from Owens' jealousy of tight end Jason Witten, Sapp implied backup quarterback Brad Johnson had confirmed the story to him.

Johnson acknowledged Thursday that he spoke to Sapp, a former teammate in Tampa Bay. However, Johnson said he didn't badmouth Owens and was not a source for ESPN's story.

"I don't know who was [ESPN reporter] Ed Werder's snitch," said Johnson, a 17-year veteran who was released this off-season. "I don't know. I never asked. There were a lot of things said, and I stayed out of the whole deal."

Briefly: The Cowboys have been allocated a $4.639 million rookie pool to sign their 12 draft picks. Some of that money has been eaten up from the signing bonuses given to the eight undrafted free agents.

Cornerback DeAngelo Smith rolled his ankle late in Friday's afternoon practice but is OK. ... Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, whose Spike TV show begins later this month, visited the afternoon practice and spoke with wide receivers Manuel Johnson, Kevin Ogletree and Julian Hawkins. ... Tight end Martellus Bennett watched the morning workout and spoke briefly with McGee, his former A&M teammate.

DallasNews.com staff writer Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.

Lucky No. 7?

Draft pick Stephen McGee donned a No. 7 jersey for his first Cowboys rookie mini-camp Friday. A list of those who have worn the number for the Cowboys :

Pos. Player Years

QB Steve Beuerlein 1991-92

QB Hugh Millen 1993

QB Randall Cunningham 2000

QB Chad Hutchinson 2002-03

QB Drew Henson 2004-05

PK Martin Gramatica 2006