The Dallas Cowboys are set to have their first practice of 2022 in the next hour, but first some official business. The business of course is who will be available to hit the practice field in full and the answer is not wide receiver Michael Gallup.
Gallup tore his ACL late in the regular season, an injury that normally takes about eight months before even the speediest to recover make their way back to the field. The club initially claimed he’d be ready for the start of the season but backed off that proclamation a few months later. His exact return is up in the air and there’s technically still a chance he gets some on-field work in during training camp in Oxnard, CA. However Gallup will begin on the physically-unable-to-perform list (PUP), along with three rookies.
Not on the list of note? Linebacker Jabril Cox is ready to roll after his ACL injury.
The @dallascowboys made the following transactions on Wednesday:
– Placed LB Damone Clark on Active/NFI
– Placed WR Michael Gallup, WR Dontario Drummond, CB Quandre Mosely and LB Aaron Hansford on Physically Unable to Perform (PUP).— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) July 27, 2022
PUP and NFI (non-football injury list) function the same way. Players who are placed on either list to start training camp cannot practice with the club, but can be taken off the list at any time. The only difference between the two is whether the absence is related to an NFL-incurred injury (PUP) or something that happened outside the parameters of NFL work (NFI). College injuries fall under the latter category.
That’s how Damone Clark, who had spinal surgery before the draft that led to his drop from a second-round projection, lands on NFI. The other injuries are tied to things rookies Dontario Drummond, Aaron Hansford and Quandre Mosley have suffered since joining the league.
If any of these players are not ready by the start of the regular season, they can be moved from Active/PUP to Reserve/PUP. They will then have to miss at least the first four weeks of the season, down from six in prior years.
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