Final Cowboys injury report for Week 8 hints star player suffered crucial setback
By Jerry Trotta
There aren't many positives to take heading into the Dallas Cowboys' matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. However, if you remember the Cowboys' offense took off last season after the bye week after Mike McCarthy made overdue tweaks.
CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott put in extra work during the bye week to improve their chemistry, which has been lacking to start the season after Lamb missed all of training camp.
That optimism does not extend to the defensive side of the ball, however. As you might have guessed, it has to do with injuries.
For starters, Micah Parsons had been trending in the wrong direction leading up to Sunday. Even though Week 8 was circled as Parsons' likely return date, he has not practiced as he works to come back from a high-ankle sprain. He has been ruled out for this week.
While Parsons' status has dominated headlines, Friday's injury report raised a major concern beyond the superstar pass rusher.
Cowboys injury report: Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland won't play vs. 49ers in Week 8
Player | Position | Injury | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Micah Parsons | DE | Ankle | Out |
DaRon Bland | CB | Foot | Out |
Eric Kendricks | LB | Shoulder | Questionable |
Caelen Carson | CB | Shoulder | Questionable |
Marist Liufau | LB | Shoulder | - |
Nick Vigil | LB | Foot | Questionable |
Ryan Flournoy | WR | Ankle | - |
Jordan Phillips | DT | Wrist | Out |
Not only is Parsons out, but DaRon Bland has been ruled out as well.
This all but confirms that Bland suffered a setback with his foot injury. Bland was a full participant Wednesday and Thursday before the Lions game on Oct. 13 before he was downgraded to a DNP on Friday and ultimately ruled out.
The All-Pro cornerback experienced soreness in his surgically-repaired foot and it apparently has been significant enough to keep him off the field since. He has worked with the resistance cords all week, which hints that he needs another week of rehab before returning.
It's an unfortunate turn of events for the Cowboys as Bland was seemingly trending toward making his season debut in Week 6 before the setback.
Another concerning part of Bland's setback? His 21-day practice window opened on Oct. 9. The Cowboys hoped to have him against the Lions, but the clock is ticking on that window. The team has just six days to decide whether to move Bland to the active roster or end his season.
The latter is much more likely than the former. There's been no indication that Bland's season is in jeopardy, if the window closes and he still isn't ready to play he will consume a spot on the roster as an unavailable player.
The 49ers won't have wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel will be less than 100%, but Bland's presence changes everything for the defense. It makes everyone's job that much easier and the turnover probability increases ten fold because of his ball-hawking ability.
Hopefully Bland needs just one more week of rest of rehab.
More Cowboys news and analysis
feed