Dallas Cowboys take a massive hit on defense with last-minute injury update minutes before kickoff vs. Bucs
The Dallas Cowboys announced their inactives for their Thursday Night Football showdown vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The big news item on the injury front for the Dallas Cowboys was supposed to be the return of All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith. Instead, it’s a massive hit to the defense minutes before kickoff.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was ruled out by the Cowboys due to an illness. The Cowboys traded for Porter Jr. last week in an effort to boost the secondary and his impact was immediately felt. Porter Jr. allowed no targets in his Cowboys debut in Week 4.
The news puts the Cowboys secondary in a bind: DaRon Bland is struggling and Dallas is banged up on the opposite cornerback spot. Cobie Durant was ruled out for his third consecutve game and Shavon Revel Jr. was limited in snaps last weekend.
Dallas also counts with Ameer Speed and Caelen Carson at the position.
With the Cowboys squaring off against an undrafted rookie QB in Jalon Daniels, they should have enough answers schematically to throw him off. But losing Porter Jr. unexpectedly is a tough, tough blow.
Sideline reporter Kristi Scales said on 105.3 The Fan no snap count was expected for Porter Jr.
Cowboys inactives
- CB Joey Porter Jr.
- LB DeMarvion Overshown
- CB Cobie Durant
- OLB James Houston
- OL Ajani Cornelius
- OL Drew Shelton
- WR Camden Brown
PRACTICE SQUAD ELEVATION: DB Reddy Steward, DB Juanyeh Thomas
Other notes on Cowboys inactives
- With Tyler Smith back on the roster, the Cowboys are increasing the number of inactive offensive linemen to two. Ajani Cornelius continues his run on the inactives list but now he’s joined by Nick Leverett.
- In a related note, expect T.J. Bass to be the Cowboys’ backup at center and guard alike.
- RB Emari Demercado isn’t on the list because he was waived as part of the Cowboys’ activation of Tyler Smith. This means the offense enters gameday with only three running backs (including FB Hunter Luepke), which has been the norm so far.
Bucs inactives
