Dallas Cowboys Final Injury Report: Who’s in? Who’s out?
The Dallas Cowboys are set to face the Philadelphia Eagles in a pivotal divisional matchup without several of their starters who are out due to injury.
Against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10, the Dallas Cowboys were easily defeated with several of their Pro Bowl-level starters sidelined due to injury. Now, with the NFC East leading 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles coming to Arlington this weekend, will the Cowboys finally be at full strength? According to their final injury report, they will be far from it.
According to the report, the Cowboys have already ruled out linebacker Sean Lee (hamstring) and kicker Dan Bailey (groin) for the divisional matchup. Both safety Jeff Heath (concussion) and left tackle Tyron Smith (back/groin) are listed as questionable. But according to reports, both players are expected to miss Sunday’s game as well.
Cowboys S Jeff Heath (concussion) is officially listed as questionable for Sunday, but he won't play. He hasn't even been cleared to practice. That means rookie Xavier Woods will make his first start at safety against the Eagles.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) November 17, 2017
A person with knowledge of the situation tells me Cowboys LT Tyron Smith will not play Sunday (groin). Byron Bell will start instead.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) November 16, 2017
Also questionable for the Cowboys upcoming contest against the Eagles are defensive tackle Maliek Collins (foot) and tight end Geoff Swaim (knee).
Wide receiver Dez Bryant (knee) and rookie cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring) both also appeared on the Cowboys injury report. But both appear to be a full-go for the game. Bryant was a full participant during both Thursday and Friday’s practices after missing Wednesday’s session completely.
Tyron Smith has not practiced in two weeks, but he has not been ruled out for Sunday night’s game. He’s listed as questionable pic.twitter.com/dM4xC1cFPU
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 17, 2017
Awuzie has been struggling with a hamstring injury since training camp. Fortunately, his expected return corresponds with the injury suffered by Heath, who’s been starting at safety all season. Awuzie is expected to provided depth at both corner and safety against Philly.
Sixth round rookie safety Xavier Woods is excepted to actually replace Heath in the starting lineup if he ends up sidelined. Veteran Byron Bell could replace Tyron Smith at left tackle after swing tackle Chaz Green was burned for multiple sacks against the Falcons in Week 10.
Next: Do the Cowboys stand a chance against the Eagles?
Finally, Sunday’s game will be the second without running back Ezekiel Elliott, who is currently serving a six-game suspension for a suspected domestic violence incident stemming from last July. The Dallas Cowboys will continue to try and replace his lost production with some combination of Alfred Morris, Rod Smith and Darren McFadden.