The cavalry may be coming at several key positions for the Cowboys, but several other areas are suddenly up in the air. DeMarcus Lawrence is planning to return to action after missing 10 games, while CeeDee Lamb is also tracking toward suiting up after a one-game absence. Amari Cooper is likely to return, at least to practice, after his bout with COVID-19, just as Terence Steele enters the virus protocol. Several Dallas coaches are also dealing with COVID, and Ezekiel Elliott is working on the assumption that he’s playing as normal, even though there are rumblings he’ll be held out of Thursday’s game to rest a bruised knee.
In non-roster news, the Cowboys have to be pleased with the results of Sunday’s games, at least in terms of how they affected their standings in the NFC East. Micah Parsons is still wondering about the roughing penalty he drew on Thanksgiving, we’re still parsing the lessons learned in the 36-33 loss, we’re getting an earful in the latest edition of Sounds from the Sideline, and we’re taking a long, hard look at the declining Dallas run game. All that, plus Jimmy Johnson shares the story of how a Giants legend was supposed to be a Cowboy, and a coach many Cowboys fans coveted is taking a new job in hopes of restoring a storied college program to glory. Here’s the News and Notes.