The Cowboys’ second win of the season came with some losses at its heels. Injuries to edge rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence dampened an otherwise victorious Thursday night over the division-rival Giants. While the worst-case scenario was certainly avoided, both situations appear to be worse than initially expected, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. 
Parsons fell victim to a high ankle sprain. After exiting the Thursday night matchup in the fourth quarter, Parsons saw negative x-rays immediately after the game. An MRI revealed the sprain, and though there was initially hope that Parsons would be able to take advantage of a 10-day break until their next game and return, the star defender will be out for two to four weeks. With Parsons being such a key player on the defense, it stands to reason that Dallas would slow-play his return, erring on the side of caution and waiting until after their Week 7 bye to bring him back.
Lawrence’s injury seemed immediately worse than Parsons’, a sentiment later confirmed by head coach Mike McCarthy. An MRI today unveiled a mid-foot sprain in Lawrence’s right foot, but the prognosis wasn’t disclosed until a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, pinning Lawrence’s recovery timeline at four weeks, at least.
According to Watkins, McCarthy made it known that both players would be seeking second opinions on their situations. If both situations hold true to their current form, though, Lawrence becomes a sure candidate for injured reserve. With plans to reevaluate Lawrence in four weeks, it makes perfect sense to place him on IR and fill his roster spot with someone who can play now.
With Sam Williams and Durrell Johnson already on IR and Tyrus Wheat dealing with injury, the Cowboys’ depth on the defensive edge is sure to be tested in the coming weeks. Adding Parsons and Lawrence to the list of unavailable players leaves only two healthy defensive ends on the roster: Chauncey Golston and Marshawn Kneeland.
A second-round rookie out of Western Michigan, Kneeland will receive a baptism by fire. He’s served mostly as a rotational rusher in the first few games of the season but will likely be tested much more moving forward. Golston is in a contract year with the Cowboys after being drafted in the third round out of Iowa in 2021. He’s also been mostly a rotational pass rusher throughout his three years with the team, logging three starts and 4.5 sacks in that time.
With a lack of bodies on the edge, the Cowboys will likely continue to look for new players to add to the defense, something the team has been doing since Williams went down in July. They hosted free agent pass rushers Carl Lawson, Shaka Toney, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Justin Hollins before the season, eventually signing Lawson to the practice squad. They may call up some familiar names in their time of need, although at least one high-profile external option is not currently on the table. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the club is not presently considering a trade for embattled Jets pass rusher Haason Reddick due to the prohibitive cost — presumably in terms of both dollars and draft capital — to acquire him.
This team is done any way
Cowboys aren’t horrible don’t buy into the hype. I just can’t see that team making a Super Bowl. They’ll always fall short
They are absolutely horrible…. They can’t stop the run. They can’t play physical. They still have three more weeks without Bland….. the pass rush is none existent Micah is not playing like he was Blame zimmer there the head coach is a joke… they are very much done look at the schedual
All in(jured)
That one’s pretty good
Cowboys season: also worse than expected.
Darn shame. Hate it when bad things happen to the Cowboys. Poor guys.
Let them sit; in all seriousness, it’s not worth rushing anyone back. Lawrence is older now as is, and if the Cowbyswant to make a run in the playoffs, both of these players are going to be essential to that effort.
Mike Florio suggested Parsons should sit till he is completely healthy, since he is underpaid anyway, but we will see if his competitive nature–and pain threshold–can bring him back to the field quicker.
I think that both are true-although, not for Florio’s reasons. Florio doesn’t really…like football, I don’t think. Your statement is something that appeals to most players, which concerns competitiveness. Most players have that, and certainly the great ones do. Florio can, as he often does, talk about compensation and respect and ego as reasons to strategize availability, but most competitive players want to win primarily.
It’s actually in Dallas’ best interest to try and preserve Parsons and Lawrence as best they can for the future, so they can get 100% out of them in, say, 70% of their games, instead of 70% of them in 100% of games. Of course, Florio would argue that longer sitting helps Dallas by hurtingParsons’ stats for contract talks, but Parsons has such sky high value right now that I’d consider that irrelevant. He’s put together more than enough tape to keep anyone from questioning his ability, and this is no major injury.
Wish I could’ve given you two thumbs up. Well thought out/said.
It’s time to move off of Lawrence in the offseason
Youre right, Florio is a lawyer posing as a commentator, which is why his site doesnt allow passionate comments from fans anymore. The Cowboys would be foolish not to sign Parsons next summer.
No playoff run is coming. This was the perfect year to not pay Dak take the season as it is and reset at QB smh but no we payed this clown
Agreed but that’s a 2 year plan. Dak would’ve counted for $40 mil in dead money next season and still held the cowboys back in that regard. I wanted them to do that, start Lance for a year, be awful, trade Parsons and use the high picks from being terrible/whatever you get for Parsons and start over. The “window” Dak had is shut.
I don’t know why you’d completely rule out a Reddick trade, unless it’s due to the unwillingness to sign him to the deal that he wants. The Jets would, in all likelihood, be willing to ignore their posturing and ship him off for something useful. Not signing Reddick to an extension was, however, how New York got into this predicament to begin with, so if that’s the case, Dallas would be wise to skip that mistake.
Of course, with Lawrence’s age, having Reddick on a deal after this year could be a boon for the Cowboys, unless Kneeland jumps up and shows that he’s immediately ready for a starting job. I don’t know if a move that Dallas “needs” to make, but they could possibly get something out of it.