Cowboys traded for DT who’s now hurt, here’s who they replaced him with angeltorres The Cowboys interior defensive line woes have taken another hit as the team is placing tackle Jordan Phillips on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Phillips will miss at least the next four weeks of the season. Dallas acquired the 11th-year defender from the division rival New York Giants for a 2026 sixth-round pick. In return, Dallas received Phillips along with a 2026 seventh-rounder. The Cowboys next four opponents are the Ravens, Giants, Steelers, and Lions. Phillips could be eligible to return prior to the Cowboys October 27 game against San Francisco. Phillips was supposed to shore up the Cowboys run game woes yet his 26.1 PFF grade against the New Orleans Saints was among the many things that went wrong for Dallas in the blowout home-opener loss. The Cowboys worked quickly to fill his roster spot, bringing back a familiar face in defensive tackle Carlos Watkins. Watkins played for Dallas from 2021 through 2022. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Texans. After Dallas suffered an exodus of free agents leaving for Washington to follow their new head coach Dan Quinn, Dallas struck back,  poaching Watkins off the Commanders practice squad. Questions about the Cowboys run defense will continue to be asked until the team can consistently find a way to slow opponents down.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced its list of Modern-Era Players nominated for inclusion in the Class of 2025. Of the 167 players up for a bronze bust this year, 16 are eligible for the first time, including one Cowboys great. Center Travis Frederick is in good company, with Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Marshawn Lynch, and Adam Vinatieri among the other first-time nominees. A screening committee will pare the list down to 50 names in mid-October before 25 semifinalists (and then 15 finalists) are named ahead of the selection meeting that will determine next year’s class. Of the 167 nominees, only three to five will be chosen for enshrinement, as per Hall of Fame bylaws. Here’s a look at the former Cowboys who have taken a first but important step toward Canton. [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] QB Tony Romo LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 22: Tony Romo #9 of the Dallas Cowboys throws a pass in the first quarter against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on December 22, 2013 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) The undrafted free agent out of Eastern Illinois didn’t get a combine invite and did nothing more than serve as the holder for placekicks for his first three pro seasons. But after a Week 7 game in 2006 when he replaced an ineffective Drew Bledsoe, he quickly became one of the most beloved Cowboys ever. Over the next 11 seasons, he would amass more than 34,000 yards, throw for 248 touchdowns, and lead 28 fourth-quarter comebacks- all franchise records- en route to four Pro Bowl nods and six playoff appearances. OC Travis Frederick HONOLULU, HAWAII – AUGUST 17: Travis Frederick #72 of the Dallas Cowboys calls the offensive line reads during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Aloha Stadium on August 17, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) Frederick was a first-round draft selection in 2013. Considered by some draft analysts to be a reach at the time, the Wisconsin native started every game over his first five seasons and earned a Pro Bowl nod in the last four of them. He met with considerable adversity in 2018, though, when a diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome cost him the entire 2018 campaign. Frederick returned in 2019, once again starting every game and being named to the Pro Bowl, before announcing his retirement in spring of 2020. OT Erik Williams Jan 30, 1994; Atlanta, GA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Erik Williams (79) in action against the Buffalo Bills during Super Bowl XXVIII at the Georgia Dome. The Cowboys defeated the Bills 30-13. Mandatory Credit: James D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports “Big E” was on track to be perhaps one of the greatest offensive linemen in Cowboys history until a serious automobile accident sidelined him for the back half of his fourth NFL season. He returned to the field in 1995 and played another six seasons, although most believe he was never the same player. Nevertheless, Williams helped the dynasty teams of the ’90s win three Super Bowls, and he personally earned four Pro Bowl nods and was named a first-team All-Pro three times. DT La’Roi Glover HONOLULU – FEBRUARY 12: La’Roi Glover #97 of the NFC looks on during the 2006 NFL Pro Bowl against the AFC on February 12, 2006 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The NFC won 23-17. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) A onetime fifth-round draft pick by the Raiders in 1996, Glover really earned his reputation during a five-year stint in New Orleans before joining the Cowboys in 2002. He played for Dallas for four years- appearing in every single game over that time- and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his seasons in Dallas. LB Ken Norton Jr. Dec 16, 1989; E. Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Ken Norton Jr. (51) tackles New York Giants running back Maurice Carthon (44) at Giants Stadium. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports The son of a former heavyweight boxing champ, Norton was a second-round pick out of UCLA in 1988. He proved to be an instrumental part of the team’s turnaround from 1-15 doormats to back-to-back Super Bowl winners, earning two rings with the Cowboys before moving to San Francisco to claim another. Norton went on to a second career in coaching and is currently the Commanders’ linebackers coach. Safety Darren Woodson 7 Sep 1997: Defensive back Darren Woodson of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates during a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Cardinals won the game, 25-22. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport Woodson is a Hall of Fame nominee for an incredible ninth time, even though his achievements over his 12-year career should have punched his ticket to Canton long ago. The franchise’s all-time leading tackler. Three-time Super Bowl champ. Five-time Pro Bowler. Four-time first-team All-Pro. Ring of Honor member since 2015. Woodson is a two-time finalist for Canton. Others with notable Cowboys experience DALLAS – AUGUST 31: Kicker Mike Vanderjagt #13 of the Dallas Cowboys looks to the scoreboard during the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on August 31, 2006 at Texas Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) RB Eddie George LB Keith Brooking Kicker Mike Vanderjagt

Cowboys DT Jordan Phillips claims ignorance about wrist injury, move to IR Todd Brock The NFL mandates that teams release practice reports that chart which players are limited by injury and to what extent. To those outside the building, an appearance on the report by a player can cause some confusion, especially if that player seemed fine during the most recent game and there were no reports of an injury suffered during practice. But it seems one Cowboys defender’s inclusion on first injury report of Week 3 is coming as a surprise, even to him. Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who was just acquired by the team a month ago, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with what the Cowboys have identified as a sprained wrist. Phillips says that’s news to him. “I don’t know,” he answered when asked how the injury came about, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That’s above my pay grade. You have to ask the people making the decisions.” The former second-round draft pick did have surgery last season while with the Bills to repair a dislocated wrist suffered in a win against Dallas, but when asked by reporters midweek if his wrist was “good,” Phillips responded “yes.” “It is what it is, I guess,” he continued. One official said the team is being cautious with Phillips. Phillips played 19 defensive snaps Sunday versus New Orleans but did not record any official statistics. He assisted on a lone tackle and logged one quarterback hit in the season opener at Cleveland. His PFF grade stands at 29.6, among the lowest grades in the league among defensive linemen. One play from the Week 2 loss showed the 330-pound Phillips being pushed around badly and ultimately getting flung into the feet of both safety Malik Hooker and cornerback Trevon Diggs nearly ten yards downfield. Another replay showed Phillips getting away from his blocker on a pass play, but instead of going after Saints quarterback Derek Carr, he inexplicably turned around and re-engaged with New Orleans offensive tackle Trevor Penning, who was still on the ground. Clarence Hill Jr. and Joseph Hoyt of DLLS Sports point out that Phillips was acquired in a trade that also netted the Cowboys a 2026 seventh-round draft pick, but only if Phillips played two games for Dallas. His appearance on the field Sunday officially checked that box. And now Phillips will miss at least four games with a wrist injury that he claims not to know anything about. [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Carlos Watkins, who played defensive tackle with the Cowboys in 2021 and 2022, was signed off the Commanders’ practice squad as a likely replacement. Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.

Micah Parsons plans attack on Lamar Jackson while serving lunch at Post Malone’s Cowboys spot Todd Brock After a rough performance from his team over the weekend, Cowboys linebacker/edge rusher Micah Parsons took out some of his frustrations on some unsuspecting fast-food patrons on his off day. And based on how he attacked the lunchtime rush at a Dallas restaurant, Lamar Jackson might want to take notice. Parsons spent a chunk of Tuesday afternoon at Raising Cane’s Post Malone x Dallas Cowboys Restaurant, a co-branded location of the chicken finger chain that swaps the company’s usual red-and-yellow color scheme for Cowboys blue and silver and also gets patrons up close and personal with memorabilia from the popular singer/songwriter and die-hard Cowboys fan. But even while gearing up for his first shift at the drive-thru window, Parsons was already looking ahead to the Baltimore Ravens and his first-ever meeting with the two-way threat leading their offense, quarterback Lamar Jackson. “In terms of what he’s accomplished in this league, he’s probably the best dual-threat quarterback in league history. Two-time MVP, Heisman winner, multiple playoff runs,” he told Cowboys Wire, one of the media outlets on hand for the event. “What he’s accomplished so far is truly admirable.” DALLAS, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 17: Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons works “Shift” at Raising Cane’s in Dallas, serves up ONE LOVE to Cowboys Nation at Raising Cane’s Dallas on September 17, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Raising Cane’s) In just his seventh pro season, Jackson has already amassed enough passing yards to put him in the NFL’s all-time top 150. But what makes him lethal is his equally-prolific rushing ability; he’s got two 1,000-yard seasons on his résumé and owns a career per-carry average of over six yards. And with the Ravens coming in to AT&T Stadium surprisingly winless over two games, Jackson will be even more of a danger for Parsons and a Cowboys defense that had absolutely no answers for the Saints last Sunday. “With Lamar, you’ve got to find a way to keep him in the pocket, don’t let him get those extra runs, keep extending play,” Parsons explained. “It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do. You’re going to need all 11 guys on the same page.” The uber-competitive Parsons brought that same mindset with him to Raising Cane’s, where he jumped behind the counter and did his usual bouncing from position to position. He went from the fryer to the drive-thru to handing out box combos with his trademark speed and hustle, urging his coworkers to keep up and even barking orders of his own at more than a few shocked customers in an effort to keep the line moving. Parsons says he’s actually no stranger to the food service industry, having worked at the Hersheypark theme park while growing up in Pennsylvania. But he did admit he would have liked to recruit at least one of his Cowboys teammates to help sling chicken and fill to-go receipts. “I would definitely bring Trevon Diggs,” Parsons laughed. “He’s very handsy. He’s going to be able to help me control the huddle.” Parsons called his midday fast-food shift a chance to “restart, reset, and refocus” after Week 2’s demoralizing 44-19 home loss to the Saints. After going on his podcast and attributing the team’s no-show to a lack of effort from some, the 25-year-old said he was “determined to get this thing right,” and said he would follow through on his offseason promise to step up and be more of a leader in the locker room. He said the self-scout starts with him. He had just three tackles on the afternoon. “For me personally, I look at my mistakes, look at how I could have done better, look at how I can lead better. Hold myself accountable, as I would anybody else,” he said. “Push my guys throughout the week- wherever I felt like their preparation was off, the detail was off. Because we’ve got to fix that, get back to the basic fundamentals.” [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer have said they don’t believe effort was the problem with the unit on Sunday. McCarthy explained that the Saints “finished better than we did,” and Zimmer- blaming quicker starts off the snap from the New Orleans offense- said, “Really, most of the guys I didn’t coach up good enough.” Parsons, however, isn’t ready to pin Sunday’s shortcomings on the coaching staff. “At this point in our careers, if you’ve got to motivate someone to go onto that football field, they’re probably in the wrong sport.” Motivation to excel has clearly never been an issue for Parsons, whether it’s on the gridiron or manning the drive-thru. And after whipping his Raising Cane’s team into shape on Tuesday, he’ll set his sights on doing the same for his Cowboys squad in time for Sunday. Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.

Doomed to Repeat? Cowboys’ offseason inaction resulted in spectacularly similar results reidhanson The Cowboys’ heavily scrutinized inactivity over the offseason will not be soon forgotten. Not after the defense offered up a near identical performance to the game that ended their season last January. Not after the Cowboys fell to 1-1 following a 44-19 loss to a New Orleans team they were expected to handily beat. Not after the Cowboys just showed the world they’re destined for the same outcome in 2024 as they suffered the year before. And year before. And year before. Amidst redefining the phrase “all in,” Jerry Jones declared from the start of the offseason, the 2024 season would be about rolling the same group back and demanding better results. Internal improvement rather than team upgrades would then be theme of the offseason. Some level of churn would be expected through free agency and the draft, but generally speaking the plan was to just play better. Critics pointed to the wide-open NFC and the window of opportunity currently facing the Cowboys. They pointed to clear and obvious deficiencies on the roster and how those weak links threaten to give the Cowboys the same results again, regardless of improved play elsewhere. Jones stood fast, refusing to open the checkbook for anything new other than a bargain. Even coaching vacancies were filled with the smallest commitment possible for Jones. Signed to a rare one-year deal, Jones added Mike Zimmer to take over for the recently departed Dan Quinn (Washington, not heaven). The defense suffered an epic collapse in Quinn’s last game and the hope was a disciplinarian like Zimmer may be able to spark improvement, even if the personnel changes were minor. The defense got their first big test in Week 2 against the high-flying Saints. Under Klint Kubiak, New Orleans ran an offense similar to that of the 49ers and Packers. Hailing from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, New Orleans manhandled the Dallas defense in a way that seemed all too familiar to Cowboys fans. The Cowboys’ whole “just play better this time” strategy didn’t appear to pay off. Just like San Francisco and Green Bay before them, New Orleans easily put up over 40 points on the vaunted Dallas defense. The Cowboys’ minor personnel changes, coaching changes and scheme changes didn’t seem to make the slightest difference. Perhaps the critics were right after all and the Cowboys really did need to upgrade at a couple positions of obvious weakness. Defensive tackle has been, and continues to be, a point of contention on the Cowboys. Dallas is extremely thin on their defensive interior and their various Band-Aids and retreads have done little to help their cause. The Shanahan wide zone scheme stretched and sealed the Dallas defensive line with ease, resulting in huge gains and utter dominance all afternoon. Without a single disrupter on the interior, the Cowboys were again easy fodder for a Shanahan offense. The Cowboys needed to add a high-level disrupter to their interior over the offseason. There were plenty available. But Jones didn’t want to add new investments, so the Cowboys opted to make other, more affordable, adjustments. Predictably it offered the same results. The offensive side of the ball suffered a similarly predictable outcome on Sunday. The lack of investment at the running back position and pass-catcher was felt significantly. With Jake Ferguson out in Week 2, the Cowboys were without reliable downfield options not named “CeeDee Lamb.” And with the RB group unable to pull their own weight in the ground game, Dallas became one-dimensional in the worst way. It shouldn’t be surprising the areas the Cowboys refused to improve in free agency produced similar results. While RBs and run-stopping DTs aren’t considered premium positions requiring top investment, they aren’t positions that can be neglected to the degree the Cowboys have neglected them. Nothing that happened on Sunday is surprising. It’s just the product of poor strategy and inadequate personnel. [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.

Apparently Jerry Jones has amnesia of recent times Cowboys endured regular-season whoopings K.D. Drummond Sir, can you be serious for five seconds, please? Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke to 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, and while there may be some actual substance to his thoughts buried deep in there, one quote making the rounds around Cowboys Nation is so ridiculous it deserves to be highlighted. Longtime beat reporter Clarence Hill, Jr. of All City DLLS tweeted out a snippet that is so tone deaf it has to be highlighted. Following Sunday’s debacle at AT&T Stadium, the 2024 home opener where the Cowboys were throttled 44-19 by the New Orleans Saints, there’s a sense of “same-old Cowboys” floating around. Jones is looking to squash that notion and in what is now his normal flubbing of media appearances, stuck his foot deep in it. Jerry Jones has a bright side to the Cowboys embarrassing blow out loss to the Saints: “If we’ve got any albatross around our neck, it’s that we’ve been a good-to-very-good team during the season over the last 4-5 years with Mike and we haven’t done well in the playoffs. So let’s trade some challenges during the season for doing well in the playoffs, if you want to look at it that way.” – @1053thefan Apparently Jones has been Men-in-Blacked about what happened in Week 15 last season in Buffalo when the Bills dominated McCarthy’s boys 31-10. Or Week 5 when Kyle Shanahan lambasted the troops 42-10. While it’s true that Dallas has had regular season success, winning 12 games each of the prior three seasons, and they are normally the team blowing an opponent out, somehow forgetting that they’ve been blown out now three times in their last 14 contests is remarkable. No, Jerry, fans don’t want to look at it that way. They would like to not lose in such a fashion AND also get postseason wins.

Former sub-.500 Cowboys QB is somehow starting in NFL again after No. 1 draft pick benched K.D. Drummond Andy Dalton, come on down! The Carolina Panthers have a new head coach in 2024. Hired because of how well he did in the Baker Mayfield reclamation project in Tampa Bay, Dave Canales has apparently already seen enough out of Bryce Young. The 2023 No. 1 overall selection out of Alabama, who the franchise traded their 2024 first-round pick and a star receiver away in order to draft, is now out. Dalton is in. Dalton, the former starter in Cincinnati with the Bengals, was an injury fill-in for the Cowboys back in 2020 when starter Dak Prescott went out with a horrific leg injury after just five starts. Dalton led the Cowboys to a 4-5 record, and famously inspired very little loyalty from his troops in Dallas. Dalton was absolutely shredded on a slide in a game against Washington in late October that season with a diabolical hit to the head. Not a single teammate raised much of a fuss with the opposition over the hit. When Dalton was signed in the 2020 offseason, stop reading if you’ve heard this before, some disgruntled fans thought he should replace Prescott as a starter. He threw for 2,170 yards with 14 touchdowns against 8 interceptions in the 10 games he was a legit part of. Prescott of course signed the following offseason despite the injury to a deal worth $40 million a year. That mantle has since been passed on to first Cooper Rush and then Trey Lance, and Prescott has since signed a new deal now worth $60 million a season. Following 2020, Dalton spent a year with the New Orleans Saints (6-8) and another with the Chicago Bears (3-3) before latching on with the Panthers last year. He went 0-1 in 2023 and is now going to be the starter for the foreseeable future. In his time with the Bengals he accrued a 70-61-2 record as a starter, being named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2011 and again in 2014 and 2016. Pulling the plug just two games into the season for a second-year quarterback seems a bit premature for Canales. Dalton certainly gives the club a better chance to win, and a better chance to evaluate the rest of the team, but pretending like a roster missing talent at every level is a marginal starter away from competing seems a bit reactionary. Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.