The Cowboys’ Saturday roster move added another layer of uncertainty to George Pickens’ Week 9 status.
Pickens has been dealing with a hamstring issue for the past two weeks, and he was also listed with a shoulder injury last week before that designation disappeared from this week’s report. He practiced on a limited basis all three days and was tagged questionable, but that didn’t initially set off alarms since he followed the same pattern before suiting up in Week 8.
Then Dallas elevated wide receiver Jordan Hudson from the practice squad, a move that could point to Pickens not being available against the Indianapolis Colts.
“They also elevated rookie WR Jordan Hudson and TE James Mitchell from the p-squad,” Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News relayed.
The Cowboys are already thin at receiver with KaVontae Turpin ruled out again, so Hudson’s call-up could simply be about depth. But that explanation doesn’t fully line up with how Dallas handled the previous two weeks Turpin missed.
In those games, the Cowboys did not elevate a wide receiver and instead used rookie Camden Brown as the fifth receiver. That’s why this week’s move stands out, especially with Hudson potentially filling that same role if Pickens is inactive and Brown is active again, as expected.
For now, the clearest takeaway is that Dallas doesn’t sound fully convinced Pickens will be ready. The final answer comes Sunday, when the Cowboys release their inactives an hour and a half before kickoff.
Brian Schottenheimer didn’t exactly offer a strong endorsement on Friday, either. When asked about Pickens, the head coach said he was only “hopeful” the receiver would play.
The elevation of Mitchell also suggests the Cowboys may be bracing for at least one tight end to sit. Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker are both questionable, and Mitchell’s presence points to one of them likely being unavailable.
Ferguson seems to be the likelier absence after his ankle injury, diagnosed as a low-ankle sprain, limited him to just one practice this week. Schoonmaker, who missed last week with a groin injury, managed three limited practices, which at least showed progress.
If both Ferguson and Schoonmaker are out, Dallas would be stretched thin at tight end. Mitchell would join Brevyn Spann-Ford as the only healthy options, and the Cowboys would need him to contribute on offense.
Mitchell was elevated last week as well, but he didn’t play an offensive snap and instead logged 10 plays on special teams. This time, Dallas may need more than that if the tight end room gets even thinner.
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