Dalton Schultz gets positive MRI results, but may miss time with PCL issue
The injury bug just keeps biting the Dallas Cowboys. After the team lost starting QB Dak Prescott, Connor McGovern, Jayron Kearse, and Tarrell Basham in Week 1 (in addition to all of the offseason injuries), the last thing this team needed was more players down.
In Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, one of the team’s only veteran pass catchers went down late in the game with a knee injury. With a few minutes left, tight end Dalton Schultz fell to the ground after getting him from behind on an incompletion. The TE immediately grabbed his knee and was sidelined for the rest of the game.
After the matchup, reporters revealed that Schultz would undergo an MRI on Monday morning to learn more about the injury. The good part of the bad news came late last night. Michael Gehlken reported that there was no tear in the ACL, but the team wanted the tight end to still get an MRI for further clarity.
On Monday morning, the Cowboys revealed that the results were positive. Gehlken reported that the damage could have been significantly worse and that Schultz successfully avoided a major absence or season-ending injury.
Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz received good news in this morning's MRI: Damage to right knee could have been more substantial, and he's expected to avoid a significant absence, person close to situation said. Schultz suffered injury late in Sunday's win over Bengals.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 19, 2022
Dalton Schultz gets positive MRI results, and the Cowboys think Michael Gallup could be ready for Week 3
Later Monday afternoon, the media reported that the injury for Schultz was a PCL issue. “Issue” is obviously a very vague term, but the lack of the word tear or break does give hope that it’s not bad enough to miss significant time. Mike McCarthy said the team will know more about whether the tight end will be available for Week 3’s Monday Night Football contest by the end of the week.
Some other interesting news from the Cowboys organization on Monday was that the team feels WR Michael Gallup could potentially play in Week 3 against the New York Giants. Stephen Jones even called it a good possibility.
It would certainly help to have Gallup back in the receiving rotation with Schultz potentially out, but we still hope that the organization does not rush the newly-extended receiver back too soon. We have seen several NFL players who return too quickly and end up injuring themselves again. Sending Gallup, or even Prescott for that matter, out before they’re fully ready is not a wise move.
Told TE Dalton Schultz has a PCL issue in his right knee. That bothered Ezekiel Elliott last year. Unclear if Schultz could miss time at this point.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 19, 2022
Aside from Gallup, Dallas has both Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot as tight end options. Both had great performances in the preseason, but neither has played the position in a regular-season game so far. This could be a big chance for Ferguson to prove himself as a future TE in this organization, especially with Schultz playing on the franchise tag.
We hope Schultz has a speedy recovery and that he can be back on the field soon.
