Entering Week 5, it’s already clear that the Dallas Cowboys are dealing with some significant injuries. They will be without two key starters and likely a third in the Sunday Night Football Week 5 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will miss the game and is out 4-8 weeks with a foot injury, and on Wednesday ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that wide receiver Brandin Cooks will miss Sunday’s matchup with a knee issue.
On top of all that, star pass rusher Micah Parsons could miss Week 5 against the Steelers after suffering a high-ankle sprain last week on Thursday Night Football against the New York Giants. The Cowboys are preparing to play without him this week.
NFL Insider Adam Caplan tweeted the Cowboys’ injury report for Wednesday.
COWBOYS’ WEEK 5 WEDNESDAY INJURY REPORT
DNP
LB Micah Parsons (ankle)
WR Brandin Cooks (knee)
LIMITED
RG Zach Martin (NIR — Rest)
S Malik Hooker (NIR — Rest)
LB Eric Kendricks (NIR — Rest)
CB Jourdan Lewis (NIR — Rest)
CB Caelen Carson (shoulder)
FULL
S Markquese Bell (ankle)
Parsons was injured late in the Cowboys’ Week 4 Thursday Night Football win over the New York Giants. After getting rolled up on from behind by a Giants offensive lineman, he left the game under assistance and then was carted to the locker room with his cleat and sock off.
The expectation is he’ll miss at least Week 5 with the ankle injury, a big blow to a Cowboys defense that has struggled this season. Having Lawrence out compounds the likely loss of Parsons for the Cowboys.
Offensively, the loss of Cooks on Wednesday is a big blow. Though the Cowboys still have CeeDee Lamb to lean on at the wide receiver position, Dallas is short-handed behind him with the loss of Cooks. Jalen Tolbert, KeVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks and Ryan Flournoy are the only receivers on the roster.
Bell returning to practice is good news for the Cowboys after he missed every practice last week and sat out Thursday Night Football against the Giants with an ankle injury. Same for Carson, who missed every practice last week and missed the game against the Giants. Even with him returning in a limited capacity, that’s a big boost for the Dallas secondary.
