The Cowboys’ first injury report of the week came with a long list and a few names that matter immediately for Sunday.
Dallas listed 16 players on Wednesday, and seven of them did not practice. That group included safety Caleb Downs, tight end Jake Ferguson, safety P.J.
Locke and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, all of whom were hurt in the Week 8 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. That game also marked Locke’s return from injured reserve.
Downs and Locke are both in concussion protocol, so their week will need to be watched closely. Neither is a lock to suit up in Week 9.
If Locke can’t go, Dallas will need more from Alijah Clark and Markquese Bell, especially with Jalen Thompson not likely to come off injured reserve this week. Cobie Durant stepped in for Downs after he left in Week 8 and would be the next man up there.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Lawrence will be out for a few weeks. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Ferguson is dealing with a low-ankle sprain.
There were a couple of small bright spots in the report. Luke Schoonmaker was limited, which is an improvement after he didn’t practice at all last week. Dee Winters also moved from no practice to limited.
George Pickens was limited again because of the shoulder injury he’s been managing, but he is no longer listed with the hamstring issue that showed up last week. He played through the injury last week while limited in practice, so there doesn’t appear to be much concern about his availability for Sunday.
Even so, Pickens’ usage has dipped over the last two weeks. Schottenheimer said he needs to do a better job getting him more involved. Clarence Hill of DLLS Cowboys said, "Brian Schottenheimer told me that George Pickens snaps have been limited by his injuries," and added, "He has been taken off the field because blocking in the run game."
Schottenheimer also pointed to the way targets are being spread around in an offense that features both Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.
"If I showed you the call sheet and you saw the targets for him, the targets for 88, it fills the entire back of my call sheet," Schottenheimer said.
"Again, when you have two of them, it's going to get spread around a little bit... CeeDee and George both having good years," Schotty added. "Ceedee's numbers are incredible, but, again, George is the guy that we're focused on knowing we got to get him going more and better, and that starts with me as the play-caller.
Lamb being available more often this season has clearly changed the target picture for Pickens. Last year, Lamb wasn’t on the field as much because of injury, which left more room for Pickens to draw looks. Schottenheimer’s message was plain enough: the Cowboys need to do a better job of getting their No. 2 receiver involved.
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Tyler Goodson has flashed enough to make a stronger role worth considering, especially if the Cowboys want a little more juice behind Javonte Williams. The other question is just as important, and maybe more immediate, because the right side of the offensive line has not been steady enough to ignore. Dallas is weighing whether a lineup tweak there could give the offense a better chance to hold up against the Colts, even if it means making a difficult call on a starter. [Read more 🡒]