After edging out the Philadelphia Eagles in a nail-biter on Christmas Eve, the Dallas Cowboys turnaround on a short week to battle the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Thursday night.
While the quick return of sounds and sights of Cowboys football may sound great to fans — it's not boding well for the actual team since they are dealing with injuries — and those banged-up players may not recover in time to suit up.
According to Cowboys reporter Michael Gehlken, the Boys have several players on their injury report this week. They include LBs Micah Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch, DEs Dorance Armstrong, Sam Williams, and DeMarcus Lawrence, WR Noah Brown, S Jayron Kearse, G Zack Martin, and RB Tony Pollard.
Cowboys LB Micah Parsons (hand) was added to the injury report today as limited participant. No indication he is at risk of missing Thursday's game vs. Titans. RB Tony Pollard (thigh) and LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck) missed practice for a second straight day. pic.twitter.com/UlgZglUYQ4
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 27, 2022
While Armstrong, Brown, and Martin logged full practices (which means they likely play), and Kearse, Parsons, Williams, and Lawrence got limited practice sessions (which indicates they could play), two players logged DNPs on both days.
Those two were Vander Esch and Pollard.
For Vander Esch — he's still dealing with a neck injury that he suffered against the Jaguars. There was a good sign of him rehabbing in a photo that Cowboys writer Patrik Walker posted on Twitter, but as Walker indicates, the team wants him healthy for playoffs.
Leighton Vander Esch (pinched nerve) doing resistance work.
Missed W16 and likely to miss W17 (TBD) as #Cowboys move cautiously to ensure he's heathy for the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/0fq3iRsfuY
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) December 27, 2022
Shifting to Pollard, while he hasn't practiced at all, the team and Cowboys owner Jerry sound confident that he will play. Although you expect your team to be optimistic about their players — it wouldn't be surprising if he were to miss.
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy did say on Tuesday that the team is ensuring third-string RB Malik Davis is getting a good amount of reps. So, that could foreshadow they're prepping for an Ezekiel Elliott-Malik Davis game.
Tony Pollard “looks good” and the #Cowboys are “counting on him playing” vs. Titans — Jerry Jones tells @1053thefan.
Pollard was DNP in Monday walkthrough with thigh issue.
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) December 27, 2022
Tennessee Titans Injury Notes
As a bonus, I wanted to add injury updates for the Tennessee Titans. Typically in the past, I did my honorary “Who's in, Who's out” post for the games — but I thought I would mix it up this week.
Anyways.
On the Titans' side, they're dealing with more injuries than the Boys. According to Titans reporter Jim Wyatt, the team has 12 players on the injury report. Seven have not practiced at all this week, and five are limited.
#Titans vs @dallascowboys Injury Report for Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/PCk8n34hrb
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 27, 2022
Their two most notable players on the injury report are QB Ryan Tannehill and RB Derrick Henry. While you would want your QB-RB duo in a Thursday night primetime game, this game is technically “meaningless” for the Titans, as the game outcome doesn't affect their playoff standings.
With numerous injuries across the board, it wouldn't be surprising to see the team elect to rest their players for next week's showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They need all hands on deck, as the winner of that game wins the AFC South.
Regardless of the outcomes in Week 17, the winner of the Jaguars and Titans game in Week 18 is guaranteed to win the AFC South. pic.twitter.com/1e7n87aSWY
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 25, 2022
You can expect more definitive game statuses from both teams Wednesday afternoon or closer to game time.
