It has been a long, eventful week for the Dallas Cowboys. But, thankfully, they are in the midst of their bye week and have some time to continue to recover from injuries, re-focus, make some changes where necessary, as well as integrate the two newcomers on defense in Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson.
When the Cowboys do take the field again, it will be on Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11. And, after watching the Raiders kick off Week 10, there was a notable injury to come out of that one -- and the Cowboys should be paying attention.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith went down with a leg injury against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night and was ultimately replaced by Kenny Pickett for a couple of plays. After coming back into the game, though, Smith was hobbling and in obvious pain.
The Cowboys may or may not get to face a Raiders backup quarterback in Week 11
Raiders head coach Pete Carroll chimed in after the game:
"I assume (it won't affect him going into Monday Night Football in Week 11). It shouldn't. It's a thigh bruise. It's not like some other injuries. This is not one that he can't get back from."
While it looks likely that Smith will be under center for the Raiders in Week 11, this season has proven that you truly never know.
Look at two of the most notable quarterback injuries from this season, so far, in Lamar Jackson and Brock Purdy. The Baltimore Ravens' starter looked like he could be back a couple of weeks before he actually took the field following his hamstring injury.
Jackson ended up taking extra time to many folks' surprise.
Purdy, on the other hand, was never placed on injured reserve. In hindsight, it now looks like it would have been the smarter route for the Niners to go. Mac Jones has played very well in Purdy's absence, but there were, once again, many who thought Purdy would be back by now.
In the Raiders' defense, Smith's injury is labeled a thigh bruise, so it isn't as serious as it could have been. Watching the way he moved around during the Thursday Night Football contest against Denver, it surely looked like it could have been much worse.
We will see how he progresses over the next week and whether he's able to be a full (or limited) participant in practice in the coming days. For right now, the Cowboys should absolutely be planning for both Smith and Pickett.
If it is Pickett, this defense has a chance to start the second half of the season with a bang.
And, to be quite frank, Smith hasn't exactly lit the league up this year either. So, you could argue that either quarterback would make for an oppourtunistic defense.