Cowboys inactives list for Week 1 game against Browns
By Jerry Trotta
Dallas Cowboys fans entered the season-opener against the Cleveland Browns with a little pep in their step after Dak Prescott agreed to a blockbuster four-year extension early Sunday morning. The contract makes Prescott the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history.
Like Prescott's reaction after signing the deal, though, there's no time to celebrate. The Cowboys face a huge test in Week 1 against an elite Browns defense. It's fair to ponder if Prescott will start the game a little too amped after signing his new deal. That could pose problems with Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit patrolling Cleveland's secondary but this game will boil down to a lot more than Prescott's performance.
Sunday marks Mike Zimmer's first game back as defensive coordinator. It will be fascinating to watch how Micah Parsons is used. Regardless, the Cowboys will need Parsons and the front seven to wreak havoc being that the secondary is down a key piece.
Star cornerback DaRon Bland is on injured reserve after he underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot. Without further ado, let's get into the Cowboys' Week 1 inactives.
Cowboys inactives:
- Trey Lance
- Andrew Booth
- Buddy Johnson
- Matt Waletzko
- Ryan Flournoy
- John Stephens Jr.
Trey Lance highlights the Cowboys inactives list as he lost the backup quarterback job to Cooper Rush during the preseason. Dallas' continued belief in Lance continues to be confusing, especially after committing to Prescott for another four years.
Nobody else on the list is all that impactful for the Cowboys. It should be business as usual for Dallas against Cleveland.
Browns inactives:
- Jedrick Wills
- Jack Conklin
- Dorian Thompson-Robinson
- Kahlef Hailassie
- Myles Harden
- Isaiah McGuire
- Javion Cohen
The Cowboys actually have a huge advantage over Cleveland on the injury front. The Browns have ruled out left tackle Jedrick Wills, who only just returned to practice after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 9 of last year.
Jack Conklin has also been ruled out for the Browns, who are patching together an offensive line that looks nothing like it did last season.
You can count on Zimmer unleashing Parsons from the left side and scheming designed blitzes from the second level to cause even more problems for an already depleted Browns offensive line.
Zimmer's defense could be what wins the Cowboys this game.