Report: Cowboys’ pass rush takes a hit as Bradlee Anae is added to Reserve/COVID list

The Cowboys take another hit defensively as their second-year DE joins the COVID reserved list. LB Keanu Neal was added on Wednesday just as they are getting Randy Gregory back. | From @StarConscience

The Dallas Cowboys defense is riding a wave of momentum entering their NFC East showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. In the first two weeks of the season, they have forced a league-leading six turnovers and are only yielding 73.5 yards per game on the ground.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they’ll be going into this game short-handed on the defensive side of the ball. After linebacker Keanu Neal was added to the Reserve/COVID list on Wednesday, second-year defensive end Bradlee Anae is joining him.

Anae only logged six defensive snaps as a rookie but nearly doubled that in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 10. With DeMarcus Lawrence out for six to eight weeks with a broken bone in his foot and Randy Gregory being out due to COVID protocols, Anae saw a career-high 23 snaps and showed his natural pass-rushing ability by beating 2021 first-round pick Rashawn Slater multiple times to apply pressure on Justin Hebert.

This news isn’t ideal for the Cowboys’ defense with such a huge game coming up. In addition to Dorance Armstrong and Carlos Watkins being out the loss of Anae is a blow to the Cowboys’ pass rush. He’s the 12th player on the team to be added to the Reserve/COVID list since August 21 with seven producing positive tests. The Eagles are going to be without their starting left tackle Jordan Mailata, so it appeared to be a favorable matchup for the club.

Although the Cowboys are getting Gregory back, their task defensively on Monday night just got a little tougher.

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