Tag: Collarbone

McCarthy: Vander Esch ‘didn’t miss a beat’ in practice, Jerry Jones praises Gregory’s intellect

The Cowboys’ 2020 season has been largely defined thus far by the players the team has lost over the course of five games. Heading into Week 6, coach Mike McCarthy found himself in the unusual position of talking about getting some players back. And …

The Cowboys’ 2020 season has been largely defined thus far by the players the team has lost over the course of five games. Heading into Week 6, coach Mike McCarthy found himself in the unusual position of talking about getting some players back. And owner Jerry Jones compared one of them to a Hall of Fame legend.

At the top of the list, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch looks to be on track to make his return this week versus Arizona. Defensive end Randy Gregory could be back as soon as Week 7 against Washington after being reinstated by the league. The third-year linebacker suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter of the team’s season opener; Gregory has not played since January 2019 in the Cowboys’ playoff loss to the Rams.

McCarthy said that both players are trending in the right direction, but emphasized that the team’s Friday and Saturday sessions will be key factors in getting them back on the field.

“I thought Leighton and Randy had very good practices,” the coach told reporters of the Thursday workout. “Leighton looked like he didn’t miss a beat in there. Today will be a big practice for him. It’ll be the first time in pads, going through the full Thursday-type practice because we’re on an in-season Thursday schedule; I know it’s Friday. So this will be a big day for him. It was great to get Randy in the team reps and in the pass rush segments. We have a pass-under-pressure drill that he definitely showed up in. He looked good. They both looked good. I’m anxious to see them both practice today, and really, how they come in tomorrow will be probably the most important part of their week of physical preparation.”

Vander Esch is ahead of schedule in terms of recovering from his collarbone issue, but the neck injury that caused him to miss seven games last season and required surgery in January is still fresh.

Jones says that despite the undeniable spark the Boise State product would bring to the struggling Cowboys defense, the team won’t rush him back before he’s ready.

“He will not go back out there if he is vulnerable in any way- inordinately vulnerable- as to, certainly, the injury he has dealt with,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday. “I’ll assure you of that. You can bet if he hits the field, he has a complete go and a solid go to go out. We would not risk additional injury because of that injury, whether it’s to where he was injured or how he’s playing because he was injured. All of that, you can feel real good. If you see him on the field, he should be out there.”

McCarthy knows that Gregory’s road back will be just a little longer. But the club’s 2015 second-round draft pick has taken an important step by returning to practice this week.

“It’s a work in progress,” the coach told reporters during his Friday press conference. “I though Randy did a great job; he was full-speed yesterday. Today is really the day that I think he’s really looking forward to. He’ll be part of the padded work for the first time. We’ll evaluate everything he does. At the end of the day, until you clearly make that decision, the training staff and the medical staff have to feel good about him. Based on what he did yesterday, he’s definitely heading in the right direction.”

The former Nebraska standout has appeared in just 30 games (including postseason) as a Cowboy, but has proven to be a game-wrecker when he’s active.

Jones raved about Gregory in his latest radio interview, but said that what the 27-year-old brings to the Dallas pass rush is far more than just a freakish physical skill set.

“He’s an impact player. Always has been,” Jones shared. “And when he’s been on the field for us, he’s impactful, to overuse the word. With that in mind, he’s obviously smart, has high football IQ- he made the highest SAT test of anybody we’ve ever drafted. Anybody. He really has good intellect. Charles Haley also had one of the highest intellects we’ve ever had, and you see how he used that to be a good pass rusher. But Gregory has unique physical abilities and has unique ways to- we call it “Gumby.” He’s not only an excellent athlete, but he’s got Gumby, which means he can bend and torque and get in good positions to impact the discourage the passer, much less sack him. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the field.”

Invoking a fictional claymation character and a five-time Super Bowl champion Hall of Famer all in one answer demonstrates just how highly Jones and the Cowboys organization regard Gregory.

Bringing a player deserving of that praise to the current iteration of the Cowboys defense- not to mention adding the Wolf Hunter back into the lineup- may just be enough to salvage a season on the verge of slipping away.

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Return of the Wolf Hunter: Vander Esch to worway back into practice

After suffering a broken collarbone in Week 1, Leighton Vander Esch is beginning the process of working his way back to the practice field.

Leighton Vander Esch has been hit with the injury bug over the last calendar year. In 2019, he missed seven games due to a neck issue that required offseason surgery. In the Cowboys season opener, Vander Esch suffered a broken collarbone and was placed in injured reserve.

On Wednesday morning, however, head coach Mike McCarthy offered some encouraging news as Vander Esch will begin working his way back to the practice field, although it’s uncertain if he’ll leave the rehab group in the immediate future.

The Cowboys could certainly use Vander Esch with the current state of their defense. Jaylon Smith, Vander Esch’s partner in crime so to speak, is struggling mightily under Mike Nolan’s hybrid scheme after switching to outside linebacker. In addition to this, the Cowboys are currently ranked 30th in total defense and they’re giving up a league-worst 172.5 yards per game on the ground.

NFL Network’s Jane Slater joined 105.3 The Fan Wednesday morning to provide more information about when Vander Esch will return to field action.

“I just got off the phone with somebody … and I was told that the collarbone is completely healed,” Slater said. “He is going to be working his way back in practice, but I get the sense that we’re still looking at about a three to four-week timeline, if you’re being optimistic. The biggest concern here isn’t the fact that it’s healed it’s when can he physically hit somebody. Because you don’t want to re-break the collarbone.”

That’s very encouraging news considering Vander Esch broke his collarbone a little over three weeks ago. Now, it’s just a matter of him getting back to fieldwork as he prepares to hopefully assist in salvaging the Cowboys 2020 defensive unit.

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Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed questionable to return with a collarbone injury

One of the best young players for the Chiefs defense is questionable to return with an injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs might be without one of their most impressive rookies for the second half against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Chiefs have announced that CB L’Jarius Sneed is questionable to return to the game with a collarbone injury. Sneed led the NFL in interceptions through the first two weeks of the season with two. He was injured as he made a diving attempt at a third interception.

The rookie has been pivotal in the absence of CB Bashaud Breeland with a four-game suspension and Charvarius Ward with a broken hand. Right now,  Rashad Fenton and Antonio Hamilton are the only healthy cornerbacks on the roster. Ward is active, but it’s unclear if he’s healthy enough to play.

Obviously, it’d be a huge blow for the Chiefs if Sneed was unable to play in the rest of the game. Thankfully, the team has already built a healthy lead ahead of halftime. They’ll just have to ask whoever steps in to keep the play in front of them, especially if they’re matched up with the speedy Ravens wideout Marquise Brown.

Update: Sneed has been ruled out for the remainder of the game. Not a good sign, but let’s hope that it’s just precautionary for the rookie cornerback.

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Report: Broken collarbone to keep Cowboys LB Vander Esch out ‘6 to 8 weeks’

The Cowboys linebacker will go on injured reserve, but should return this season. He missed 7 games in 2019 with neck injuries.

Third-year linebacker Leighton Vander Esch spoke on Friday about how excited he was to be back on the field. After a bulging neck disk and a diagnosis of congenital spinal stenosis kept him out of the last six games of 2019, the former first-round draft pick said going into Sunday night’s season opener was the best he’s felt in a year. 2020 was all set to be a comeback campaign for the 2018 Pro Bowler.

The curtain came down on that comeback before the halftime intermission. Vander Esch suffered a broken collarbone after three tackles in just two drives during the team’s Week 1 loss to the Rams, and will be headed to injured reserve, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

As Rapoport notes, Vander Esch will be eligible to return this season. Under the 2020 COVID-19 rules for this NFL season, a player on IR may return after missing just three weeks. In a normal year, a player is not allowed to return from injured reserve unless he has missed at least six weeks’ worth of practice and eight weeks’ worth of games.

The nature of Vander Esch’s injury, though, indicates that he’ll still miss about that much time.

Rapoport tweeted Monday morning that the CT scan showed that Vander Esch “cleanly broke” the bone and confirmed a timetable to return of “6-8 weeks.”

A six-game absence would put Vander Esch out until the Cowboys travel to Philadelphia on Nov. 1. Missing eight games means he would also be unavailable for a game against Pittsburgh and then back in action versus Minnesota on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Vander Esch’s teammates on the Dallas defense talked about losing their leader after the 20-17 loss in Los Angeles.

“I know how it feels to be injured, to suffer an injury,” linebacker Jaylon Smith offered. “I don’t wish that on anyone. It’s definitely tough, but I know Leighton is a strong guy with a strong mind and a good support system, so he’s going to come back strong.”

“Obviously, whenever a guy, a teammate, goes down, it sucks,” stated defensive end Aldon Smith, who was back on the field for the first time in five years. “But we have good depth. We have guys ready to step in, and [linebacker] Joe [Thomas] stepped in and made some plays. So we’ll just have to make adjustments and keep trying to get better each week.”

Thomas played well in place of Vander Esch, recording five total tackles. The Cowboys linebacking corps is already thinned, with veteran Sean Lee starting the season on IR due to a sports hernia. He’s eligible to return as early as Week 4, but Thomas will have to do much of the heavy lifting until that help arrives.

Second-year linebacker Luke Gifford showed promise as a rookie, and may be asked to accelerate his contributions now. Francis Bernard, an undrafted rookie out of Utah, had a strong camp and may also get a long look as the Cowboys plug early holes in their defense.

Smith took over green-dot duties after Vander Esch exited Sunday’s contest, relaying the defensive play calls from coordinator Mike Nolan. Smith and Vander Esch had swapped roles this offseason, with Vander Esch taking over as the middle linebacker and Smith sliding to his former weak side spot.

But in Nolan’s new-look scheme, defensive players are asked to ignore the position labels and do more out-of-position work. So it will be up to all of the linebackers- and the rest of the defense, too- to pick up the slack, starting with meetings with the Falcons and Seahawks over the next two weeks.

“I think, just collectively as a defense, including myself, we’ve just all got to play better,” Smith concluded. “We have a standard, and we’ve got to play it.”

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