In an unsurprising move, the Dallas Cowboys have placed rookie Guard Connor McGovern on injured reserve as he deals with an ongoing pectoral injury. The open roster spot was used to add Running Back Jordan Chunn from the practice squad, which may be a sign of how contract talks are going with Ezekiel Elliott.
For McGovern, this IR move has been expected for a while. His injury kept him from playing in the preseason and limited his practice time. A setback last week all but assured that he would not be able to help the team during the early part of the regular season.
By keeping Connor on the 53 through final cuts, Dallas preserved the right to activate him from injured reserve after Week 8. He is currently their only player on IR with that eligibility.
Even without their 3rd-Round pick, the Cowboys still have Joe Looney, Xavier Su’a-Filo, Adam Redmond, and Brandon Knight as interior line depth.
Calling up Jordan Chunn is an interesting move given the ongoing talks with Ezekiel Elliott. When Dallas only kept Tony Pollard and Alfred Morris as true tailbacks on the initial 53-man roster, it seemed a positive sign that they expected Zeke to back with the team this week to prepare for the season opener.
But with the Cowboys back at practice today and Elliott still holding out, Chunn is now on the roster as RB3. In addition to some solid offensive skills, Jordan was the best special teams player of the young running back prospects.
If Zeke does return in the next day or two, it won’t be difficult for Dallas to adjust and send Chunn back to the practice squad. But the Cowboys did not need make this move for practice purposes; it does get you thinking about how they’re preparing to play the Giants and what players they expect to have, and not have, for that game.
For now, we continue to watch and wait for resolution between Dallas and its star running back. But as these roster moves show, business must go on.
