The Cowboys could be without two major defensive pieces vs. 49ers
It’s the most important game of the season so far for the Dallas Cowboys as they travel to battle the San Francisco 49ers. This matchup features both teams being extremely banged up, especially the 49ers. It looks like Deebo Samuel has a shot to play after dealing with pneumonia, and George Kittle is trending in the right direction as he tries to get over a foot sprain. However, they will he without Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk. This looked like the Cowboys would have a slight advantage when it came to some of their key guys coming back, but that may not be the case.
On Friday morning, Patrik Walker, on the AtoZ Sports morning, show gave some updates on the statuses of All-Pro linebacker/edge Micah Parsons and All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland. Starting with the latter, it doesn’t seem to look too good. Bland did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. So, the next couple of days are crucial when it comes to his availability after starting the season on injured reserve due to a stress fracture in his foot. Bland was trending to play against the Detroit Lions, but after a slight setback, they decided to give him some more time.
In terms of Parsons, the word was that he was still limping a bit from the high ankle sprain he suffered back in Week 4. According to Walker, Parsons didn’t have a limp on Thursday, although he didn’t participate in practice. Like Bland, he missed practice on Wednesday as well, but the fact that his limp is gone is a positive sign. This being the update on both players, this late in the week is still concerning, though, which would level the playing field a lot for the rattled 49ers.
The Cowboys are down their four best pass rushers at the moment with DeMarcus Lawrence not expected back until November. So, they could certainly use the presence of Parsons. However, if he doesn’t have enough explosion coming off the ball, he might want to give it another week. Dallas needs a win, badly. So, an eye will undoubtedly be kept on the availability of Parsons and Bland.
We’ll have the final injury report alter today.
