Tag: Dallas Cowboys

Commanders receive positive injury news ahead of Week 12

The Commanders could get some defensive help back in time for Week 12.

The Washington Commanders could receive some pass-rush help ahead of their Week 12 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

On Wednesday, Washington opened the 21-day practice window for rookie defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste. Jean-Baptiste was placed on injured reserve after the Week 6 game at Baltimore and missed the last five games. Before his ankle injury, Jean-Baptiste had played in every game, recording 14 tackles, including one for loss, one sack, four pressures, and two QB hits. Jean-Baptiste did this in a part-time role, playing in 36% of Washington’s defensive snaps.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Baptiste showed promise throughout the summer and early this season, giving the Commanders positive contributions from the bench.

The 21-day practice window means Washington has 21 days to either activate Jean-Baptiste to the 53-man roster or place him on season-ending IR.

Dante Fowler Jr. leads Washington with 8.5 sacks, with linebacker Frankie Luvu right behind with seven. Dorance Armstrong is next with three sacks.

Jean-Baptiste participated fully in Wednesday’s practice, which is a positive sign that he’ll be activated in time for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. The Commanders will need to make a roster move to accommodate Jean-Baptiste.

Commanders vs. Cowboys injury report: Latest updates, news for Wednesday

The first injury report for Week 12 is out.

The Washington Commanders received some much-needed rest after last Thursday’s 26-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Washington’s second straight loss after winning six of its previous seven games.

The Commanders returned to practice on Wednesday in preparation for their first matchup of the season with the Dallas Cowboys. Only two players missed practice for the Commanders, but cornerback Marshon Lattimore remained sidelined.

Head coach Dan Quinn recently said Lattimore was close to a return but did not offer a timeline. Here’s a look at Washington’s first injury report of the week:

Here is the Commanders’ complete injury report for Wednesday:

Did not participate: CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring),  LB Nick Bellore (knee), TE Zach Ertz (NIR/rest)

Limited participants: K Austin Seibert (right hip), DE Clelin Ferrell (knee), CB Noah Igbinoghene (thumb), TE Ben Sinnott (illness)

Full participants: T Brandon Coleman (thumb), DE Dorance Armstrong (knee), DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (ankle), LB Jordan Magee (elbow)

Here is the Cowboys’ injury report for Wednesday:

Did not participate: TE Jake Ferguson (concussion), FB Hunter Luepke (calf), G Zack Martin (ankle, shoulder), G Tyler Smith (ankle, knee), LB Nick Vigil (foot)

Limited participant: WR Brandin Cooks (knee), LB Eric Kendricks (shoulder), DE Marshawn Kneeland (knee), WR CeeDee Lamb (back, foot), CB Jourdan Lewis (neck)

Full participant: CB DaRon Bland (foot), T Chume Edoga (toe), T Tyler Guyton (shoulder)

Report: Highly-praised Cowboys safety out for season; may require surgery after gruesome injury

From @ToddBrock24f7: Special teams coordinator raved about Markquese Bell, whose reported shoulder dislocation will cost him the rest of the 2024 season.

The annual war of attrition has claimed yet another Cowboy, with one member of the coaching staff offering an all-too-rare reminder this week of the human side to the sport and the very personal cost to the men who make it their life’s work.

Safety Markquese Bell will miss the remainder of the 2024 season, it was announced Wednesday. That decision comes after the third-year man out of Florida A&M suffered a dislocated shoulder while making a tackle in Monday night’s game with the Texans.

Per Todd Archer of ESPN, multiple sources report that the injury may require surgery. It looked quite serious in the moment, and Bell needed considerable help getting off the field after it happened in the second quarter of the 34-10 loss.

After a second season that saw him get converted to linebacker under Dan Quinn, Bell had seen fairly limited action back at safety with Mike Zimmer’s defense in 2024. He had played just 34 defensive snaps, but Bell had become a real standout among special teams players.

Special teams coordinator John Fassel visibly choked up talking about Bell this week during his weekly press conference.

“That one hurts,” Fassel said when asked about the loss of the 25-year-old.

“He’s played as good [on] special teams through 10 games as I can remember,” Fassel told reporters Tuesday. “He got hurt doing what he does best, just flying in there, diving. He’s going to be okay, but man. Just, gosh. I’ve just spent so much time with these guys in meetings and the practice field and the game field. And the emotions of [going] undrafted to wanting a little bit more and accepting his role and thriving in his role… damn. I’m hurting for him, because he was on a mission. He was as good as we’ve had in a while.”

A reflective Fassel went on to talk about the relationship he’s developed with so many of his players, world-class athletes who typically don’t get the credit they deserve for sacrificing themselves over and over on seemingly routine plays that often fly well under the average fan’s radar.

“These young men are very human. Gosh, and they want so much out of their career. And I want it for them,” Fassel explained. “They’re special humans, and what they do on a daily basis is very unique.”

But injuries come part and parcel with the sport for everyone who plays it, and now the Cowboys must find a way to replace Bell on the field for the final seven games of the schedule.

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Just like Bell went back to work the morning after getting hurt, to take the first steps down his road to recovery. Fassel talked about seeing Bell in the trainers’ room just that morning and was already looking ahead to seeing him back on a football field.

Fassel hinted, though, that both men know that both being back in the star when that happens is not guaranteed.

“He had the whole thing slinged up, and he was emotional, too, because he knew what he was producing. Maybe not everybody else does, but he was producing as good as it’s been. Hopefully he’ll heal up and be back better than ever. I’m sure he will, because he’s a tough-ass kid. He is an outstanding football player. He’s got some great stuff in his future.”

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Gimme Him: One player the Commanders would steal from the Cowboys

The Commanders and Cowboys face off on Sunday in Week 12 action and there is one player the Commanders would love to steal from the Cowboys.

The Washington Commanders fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, and for the first time this season, they looked unsure of themselves on the field. Jayden Daniels is still nursing a rib injury that most definitely impacts his ability to move and throw. The defense had no answer for Saquon Barkley. It was a tough game to watch.

This week, though, the Commanders host the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys’ season was not going well even before Dak Prescott was injured. Without him, it’s painful to witness. The Commanders should have no trouble gaining some momentum back against the Cowboys this Sunday, but it would be a lot easier if they could steal linebacker Micah Parsons.

Not only would Parsons make a sweet addition to Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, but it would also reunite Parsons with Dan Quinn, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 2021-2023. Parsons was drafted in 2021, so his first three seasons were spent with Dan Quinn. This means he knows how Quinn thinks, knows what he likes to do, and already has a relationship with him.

Through six games in 2024, Parsons has 17 tackles (13 solo), three sacks, one forced fumble, one pass defensed, and four stuffs. He missed time with an ankle injury, but since his return has looked like himself on the field. His energy alone would bolster the Commanders’ defense, and the momentum he provides with his impactful tackles at crucial moments only adds to it.

The Commanders and Cowboys face off on Sunday at 1 pm EDT at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.

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Shedeur Sanders commits to East-West Shrine Bowl at Cowboys’ home stadium

He’s sure to be one of college football’s hottest commodities leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, and now he’s set to play his final college game at AT&T Stadium. Some believe it could be a preview of where he’ll suit up as a pro, too. Colorado …

He’s sure to be one of college football’s hottest commodities leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, and now he’s set to play his final college game at AT&T Stadium.

Some believe it could be a preview of where he’ll suit up as a pro, too.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has committed to the East-West Shrine Bowl, to be played Jan. 30 at the home venue of the Cowboys in Arlington. The annual all-star contest was held last year at the team’s headquarters, The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.

It’s a massive get for the Shrine Bowl, which competes with the Reese’s Senior Bowl for the best collegiate players to showcase each year but has generally lagged behind in terms of pre-draft clout, marquee value, and playing caliber of the prospects involved.

This one commitment has the potential to instantly flip that for 2025.

Sanders is the 22-year-old son of Cowboys dynasty-era icon and Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, who currently serves as Colorado’s head coach. After leading Jackson State to prominence and then departing for Boulder in 2023, Deion has turned the Buffaloes into a top-20 team, developed two-way phenom Travis Hunter into a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, and turned his son into a household name among elite quarterback prospects.

Along the way, Deion has emerged as a name to watch for the next round of NFL head-coach openings, particularly in Dallas, where Mike McCarthy has led a struggling Cowboys team to a disappointing 3-7 record and is on the final year of a contract that will expire once the season is over… just before the Shrine Bowl.

Deion has said publicly that he has no interest in leaving Colorado, but many wonder how motivated he’d be to stay once Shedeur and his other son Shilo- who plays safety for CU, is already a grad student, will also be eligible for the draft, and has also committed to the Shrine Bowl- have moved on.

Additionally, Deion has said that he’ll be very involved in the draft process for both of his sons and Hunter- that he’d intervene if a team he feels wouldn’t be a good fit were to select any of them. And of course, his decades-long close relationship with the most valuable sports franchise on earth and owner Jerry Jones is well-documented.

In short, there are just too many dots there for observers not to connect, too many coincidences not to wonder “what if?”

Just this week, former Cowboys teammate Michael Irvin said in an interview that, if the Cowboys were to draft Shedeur in the spring, “I believe 100 percent” that Deion would accept a head coaching job with the organization.

“And I can tell you,” he continued with a knowing grin, “good sources have told me that.”

The Cowboys will certainly get a good, long look at Shedeur in January. While the all-star game itself is a draw for fans, NFL coaches and scouts value the week of practices leading up to the game even more. The Athletic‘s Dane Brugler notes that this year, the Shrine Bowl “has several interesting modifications planned to enhance the week of practice for the quarterbacks in attendance.”

And whether he’s talking shop with Shedeur, Deion, or both, Jones will have tons of insider access to them, given his role as the owner and chief spokesman for the stadium where the game is being played. (Just look at how much airtime he got during the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight the venue hosted last weekend.)

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This September, the Cowboys gave quarterback Dak Prescott a new four-year contract worth $240 million. But experts point out that such deals always have some sort of early escape hatch built in for the team. Prescott is currently on injured reserve, out for the rest of the 2024 season with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 9.

Cowboys Wire’s latest mock draft looks at a scenario where the team drafts Shedeur in the first round, lets him learn the ropes under a recuperating Prescott in 2025, and then trades Prescott (to a team he must approve) and hands the reins to Sanders.

Between Shedeur, Deion, McCarthy, Prescott, and Jones, there are a lot of moving parts to the whole saga.

But, coincidentally or not, all of the main characters will converge in the Metroplex for what is shaping up to be a possibly monumental week in January.

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Cowboys open 21-day practice window for pair of starters

From @ToddBrock24f7: Brandin Cooks developed a knee infection after Week 4’s win; Marshawn Kneeland went down in Week 5. Both should resume practicing Wednesday.

Reinforcements could be coming on both the offense and defense ahead of the Cowboys’ annual Thanksgiving gauntlet, even though it may be too late to salvage the greater 2024 season by the time they actually re-enter the lineup.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks and rookie defensive end Marshawn Kneeland had their 21-day practice windows opened by the team on Wednesday. The Cowboys have three weeks to evaluate both players in a practice setting as they return from injury; that’s the deadline for either moving them back to the active roster or placing them on season-ending injured reserve.

Head coach Mike McCarthy had identified both players as being close to a return during a Tuesday press conference.

Cooks has been sidelined since just after the Cowboys’ Week 4 win over the Giants. Following the 20-15 win in which he caught just one pass for 16 yards, the 11th-year veteran, who had been dealing with a knee issue since training camp, underwent a meniscus procedure while in New York. The Cowboys’ WR2 option- behind CeeDee Lamb- developed an infection after that procedure, which led to him being placed on IR.

Cooks, 31, has 19 targets on the year, with nine receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.

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Kneeland, the team’s second-round draft pick out of Western Michigan, exited Week 5’s win over Pittsburgh with a non-contact knee injury after just four snaps. While an MRI showed the ACL to be intact, arthroscopic surgery was required to repair the tear.

That injury proved especially costly for a team that was already perilously thin at defensive end well before mid-October; primary options Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence had gone down by that point, and Sam Williams was lost for the entire season during the summer.

Kneeland had registered 10 tackles, three QB hits, a defended pass, and a tackle for loss before his injury.

Both players are expected to resume practicing with the team on Wednesday, and both could be re-activated to the 53-man roster before Sunday’s divisional showdown with the Commanders. Someone else would need to be moved off the roster for that to happen.

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This Cowboy may be the worst to play his position in the entire NFL in 2024

Things have gone from bad to bottom-of-the-barrel worse at the QB position for the Cowboys in 2024. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Things have not been going well for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. The calendar year started with a chilly, Week 18 road win to clinch the NFC East title in Landover, MD. Nothing good has happened since. The team returned home to be shockingly blown out the water by Green Bay in the wild-card round. The offseason saw free agency malaise, and a failure to bring back their own key guys and no movement for their star players on expiring deals.

When they finally put ink to paper there, injuries began to pile up and a lame-duck coaching staff proved incapable of inspiring the troops. Suffice to say, the Cowboys have earned their 3-7 record. Among the issues for Dallas was runner-up MVP Dak Prescott’s down season, made worse by his season-ending hamstring injury.

Prescott was in the bottom third of NFL quarterback performance this season, but what’s happened since he left has shone a light to how he was keeping things together with duct tape, paper clips and McGyver’s ingenuity.

For his replacement, veteran QB Cooper Rush, is playing like the worst quarterback the NFL has seen in 2024.

Quarterback Adjusted EPA through Week 11

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— Ben Baldwin (@rbsdm.com) November 20, 2024 at 9:05 AM

EPA, or Expected Points Added, measures the impact a play has on the likelihood of scoring. With EPA, yardage, field position, and down and distance all weigh in on what the expected net points would be for the situation. As an example, a first and goal at the one-yard line would represent a higher EP than a third and 10 on your own 20 yard line.

EPA is the difference between the Expected Points (EP) at the beginning of the play compared to the end of the play. It measures the plays impact on the score of the game.

Adjusted EPA factors in the quality of opponent.

Based on his play in the last two-plus games, Rush is the NFL’s worst quarterback in 2024. It’s almost like things couldn’t possibly be made worse by putting Trey Lance in the games.

What does Dan Quinn think about the Cowboys’ 2024 season?

What did Dan Quinn say about his former team?

Dan Quinn spent the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. It was a highly successful stint that saw Quinn lead Dallas to a top-five defensive finish each year and lead the NFL in turnovers over his three-year stint.

Quinn was so good in Dallas that he earned his second head coaching opportunity, this time against one of the Cowboys’ most hated rivals, the Washington Commanders. He has the Commanders at 7-4 and on pace for their first playoff berth since 2020.

Meanwhile, the Dallas defense has fallen apart without Quinn. Former Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer returned to Dallas but hasn’t had the same luck as he did during his first stint.

On Sunday, Quinn will meet his former team for the first time since taking over Washington’s head coaching position earlier this year. He met with the media and was asked if playing his former team felt different compared to other teams.

“No, not really,” Quinn said. “I think probably because I’m a little bit older, maybe like early on in your coaching career you do. More than anything you see your friends that you coached with or worked with post-game, and you see some of the players, in the same space, that you worked with beforehand.”

Washington, having last played on Thursday, came off a few extra days of rest, giving Quinn and his coaching staff extra time to prepare for the Cowboys. Quinn was asked if he thought injuries played a significant part in Dallas’ struggles (3-7) this season. He didn’t take the bait.

“I can’t say how the injuries have affected them,” Quinn said. “It’s a different scheme, a different group of how they feature the players. So, I’ll get more into them as I dig into the week, but really, I can only comment on my time with them, but not how they feature the guys and the injuries that could come up. At this time of year, well, every time of year, that’s one of the hard parts of our league, is injuries and dealing with them. And so, it’s the part of the game that sucks and how do you keep developing the next player to be into that space to go. But all teams deal with it, and it is hard.”

That’s the perfect answer from Quinn. He’s not going to reveal too much or say the smallest of things that the Cowboys could use as a slight. That’s not Quinn’s style.

Even though the Commanders are big favorites, Quinn will not allow his team to look past the reeling Cowboys. While he left Dallas on excellent terms with ownership and his former players, you can bet Quinn wants this one badly for multiple reasons.

Cowboys battling numerous injuries ahead of Week 12 vs. Commanders

The Cowboys are dealing with several injuries ahead of Week 12, especially on the offensive line.

It’s been a difficult season for the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas has lost five consecutive games entering their Week 12 matchup against the Washington Commanders, and the injuries have started to pile up.

In addition to losing quarterback Dak Prescott for the season after eight games, the Cowboys have gone without top pass-rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence for a combined 10 games this season.

During Monday’s loss to the Houston Texans, the Cowboys lost five more starters throughout the game, including future Hall of Fame guard Zack Martin.

Martin (ankle), tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion), left tackle Tyler Guyton (shoulder), guard Tyler Smith (ankle) and safety Markquese Bell (shoulder) all left Monday’s game and did not return. With a short week, it will be interesting to see how many Cowboys can play against the Commanders.

With a backup quarterback and three ailing starters on the offensive line, the Cowboys could be in trouble against a Washington defense that has played well lately.

Dallas will reveal its first injury report for Week 12 on Wednesday.

Cowboys make decision at quarterback ahead of Week 12 at Commanders

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy names his starting QB vs. Commanders.

After a 3-2 start to the season, the Dallas Cowboys lost their fifth straight game on Monday night, falling 34-10 to the Houston Texans at home. Dallas is 0-5 at home, with opponents averaging over 37 points per game.

The Cowboys’ former defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, is now the head coach of the 7-4 Washington Commanders. On Sunday, Quinn’s Commanders host the reeling Cowboys.

With quarterback Dak Prescott out for the season, Cooper Rush has started for the Cowboys under center for the last two weeks. Even though Dallas has scored only 16 combined points in Rush’s two starts, he’ll get the call again this weekend at Washington.

While Rush will start, the Cowboys will have specific packages for quarterback Trey Lance.

Rush has appeared in four career games vs. Washington, including last season. He has one start against the Commanders, completing 15 of 27 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns in a 25-10 Dallas win in 2022.

Lance is a former No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. The Cowboys traded a fourth-round draft pick to the 49ers for Lance ahead of last season. Lance has appeared in one game this season for Dallas.