FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys have had their season rocked by injuries, and in truth, it started back in training camp when Sam Williams suffered an ACL injury. Since then, it’s all been downhill.
Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, Brandin Cooks, Zack Martin, Trevon Diggs, DeMarcus Lawrence, DaRon Bland, Juanyeh Thomas, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Smith, Asim Richards, Caelen Carson, Markquese Bell, Tyler Guyton, and now DeMarvion Overshown have all missed time this season.
Yes, “this is football” and injuries are a part of it and all of that. But … Whoever has that voodoo doll has been working overtime.
Still, despite being ravaged by injury, the Cowboys must trudge on. … and maybe even convince themselves of the positives, as offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is attempting to do.
“It’s kind of the hand we’re dealt with right now; we’re getting some young players that probably weren’t expecting a lot of reps and playtime, they’re getting a ton of experience,” Schottenheimer said. “You find out about them, T.J. Bass, he is dialed in, the confidence of Scoony [Schoonmaker], six weeks ago the thing about Schoony was he wasn’t consistent, now the guy’s up there working his ass off, and you see that beginning to show up on game day.
“So you don’t find that out sometimes with young guys. However, they’re asked to go in, whether it’s injuries or you find a rotation for them, there’s a lot that can be learned from them.”
So there is a benefit of having a long injury list like Dallas’, and it’s getting the younger players who wouldn’t have seen the field much, if at all, and now they are getting used to the rigors of NFL football.
At the same time, a scan of the Wednesday injury list ahead of the visit to the Panthers is at least mildly concerning, as CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs were both limited. (Rookie center Cooper Beebe is out with a concussion.)
But the “positives”? Schoonmaker (along with young Brevyn Spann-Ford) has shown that he could be a player and not the “bust” some labeled him, while Brock Hoffman and Bass have stepped in to the offensive line, which has hardly missed a beat. Dallas had some of the same success with the now-injured cornerback Josh Butler (of course) forced into action due to Diggs’ issues.
While it can be hard to look for positives in such a dark season, that’s one thing that the franchise can hang its hat on … small consolation in a 5-8 season though it is.
