OXNARD, Calif. -- Ken Boatright's Super Bowl ring is in a safety deposit box for safe keeping. He did not bring it to training camp with him after signing Aug. 2 with the Dallas Cowboys.

The defensive end spent last year on injured reserve with the Seattle Seahawks but earned a ring along the way.

"As a little kid you think like, 'I'm going to go to the NFL and win a Super Bowl,' and when you're little you think it's like everybody does it," Boatright said. "But when you get to the league not many people get to enjoy that. Even though I was on IR for the whole season, it's just the experience. I'm around it. The guys embraced me when I was there. It was an amazing experience ... That's something I'm never going to forget, but I want to be on the field for one."

The Cowboys might be far away from making a Super Bowl and Boatright is far away from making the final roster, but he made a decent first impression in the preseason loss to the San Diego Chargers with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.

"He played some snaps and he flashes a little bit," head coach Jason Garrett said. "He has a long way to go, learning what we're asking him to do. But he has some ability."

There could be spots available. DeMarcus Lawrence is out for the first 3-6 regular-season games. Anthony Spencer could start the year on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury. Ben Gardner has been limited early in camp with a shoulder injury.

George Selvie offers Boatright hope. He joined the Cowboys last year after the first week of camp because of injuries, started 16 games and had a career-high seven sacks.

"I feel like I made a good impression but that was a few days ago," Boatright said. "I've got to worry about today and getting better this practice and take it one day at a time. There's a lot to learn. I've got a lot to learn just from watching film of the game a couple of times with the little things, the little details."

It was Boatright's first game since his senior year at Southern Illinois because of a shoulder injury that kept him out of the 2013 preseason.

The Cowboys are attempting to mimic the Seahawks' defensive line rotation -- albeit without as much talent as Seattle rolls out on game day. He said the techniques are similar to what he learned in Seattle but there language is different.

"Kind of thinking about Seattle sometimes helps you but sometimes it blocks you because you're trying to remember what you're trying to learn right now," Boatright said. "They are similar but when I get that, 'Oh, good, I know this one,' I can move fast. Some stuff I'm still a little hesitant on, but I'm trying to get it and get it every day."