The Cowboys got the kind of camp news that can calm a room in a hurry. After safety P.J.
Locke went down with a knee injury during Wednesday’s run, there was at least a moment of real concern around a player Dallas expects to matter in Christian Parker’s new-look defense. But head coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t sound alarmed, and that changed the mood fast.
ESPN’s Todd Archer reported, "Schottenheimer doesn’t believe it is anything significant."
That matters because Locke is positioned for a real role. Malik Hooker and Jalen Thompson are set as the starting safeties, but Locke is the next man up and should be part of the rotation. In a camp where the Cowboys are still sorting out a new scheme and trying to fit a lot of new pieces together, even a short absence is better than the alternative.
Schottenheimer also said Locke’s tests looked great, which is about as reassuring as camp injury news gets. Locke signed a one-year, $4 million deal this offseason, and Dallas would have had a much bigger problem if this had turned into something long term.
The timing still isn’t ideal. Every rep matters this time of year, and missing a few days can slow down a player trying to get comfortable in a new system. But the Cowboys can at least breathe a little easier knowing this doesn’t sound like a serious setback.
Locke has been durable over six NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos, appearing in 90 of a possible 101 games. That track record is part of why Dallas brought him in, and why the injury scare briefly felt so jarring.
There is also a ripple effect here. With Locke out for now, players like Markquese Bell and Alijah Clark get a bigger window to show the coaching staff they belong on the roster or in the rotation. That’s the other side of camp injuries: somebody’s setback becomes somebody else’s chance.
As for Locke’s return, it sounds like he may not be back until next week. For the Cowboys, that’s a lot easier to live with than the season-long version of this story.
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Milton is in the mix for the backup job behind Dak Prescott, while Blue is trying to carve out a bigger piece of the backfield after a quiet rookie year. Ezeiruaku is expected to step into a starting edge role, and Thompson arrived with plenty of attention after signing with Dallas this offseason, so the early buzz around all four gives the staff something to monitor as camp settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Secondary Hit With Scary Camp Injury On Day One
The first day of Cowboys training camp brought an immediate scare for the secondary when PJ Locke went down during a backpedaling drill and had to leave the field early for evaluation by team trainers. The safety, who arrived in Dallas on a one-year deal after six seasons with the Broncos, was quickly at the center of concern because the injury looked severe in real time.
Locke is expected to be a meaningful piece of the back end, so any issue involving him is going to draw attention right away in camp. The early fear around the play was enough to unsettle a defense that is trying to settle in fast, and the next step will be seeing how the Cowboys manage his recovery and whether the setback keeps him off the field longer than they first hoped. [Read more 🡒]