The latest Dallas Cowboys injury news on safety Jalen Thompson is not what rookie Caleb Downs wants to hear. And it’s not what the Cowboys coaching staff wants to hear either.

Dallas gave Thompson a three-year, $33 million contract this offseason. That was the most free-agent money the Cowboys had handed to a player from outside the organization since they signed cornerback Brandon Carr in 2012. Thompson has been sidelined since Week 3 with a hamstring injury.

Wednesday looked like a potential day for the Cowboys to open his 21-day practice window, which would have set up a return from injured reserve later in the week. They didn’t do it.

That is to say, Thompson’s chances of playing in Week 10 aren’t looking great.

Caleb Downs is the one who pays the price

It’s easy to focus on Thompson’s absence. But this is yet another case where Downs, the Cowboys’ first-round rookie, is likely going to pay the price.

Here’s why. On top of the Thompson news, Dallas ruled out safety PJ Locke on Monday. He won’t play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, which leaves Malik Hooker and Downs as the only starting-caliber safeties available.

That puts the Cowboys in front of an uncomfortable decision. Do they start Markquese Bell or Alijah Clark next to Hooker so they can keep Downs at nickel? Or do they play Downs at safety and figure out the slot another way?

Either way, it limits their ability to move him around. Bell and Clark have been inconsistent in coverage, and I expect the Cowboys to put Downs in a box. They’ll likely play him where they need him rather than where they can exploit him the most.

And that’s a shame, because Downs is coming off his best game as a pro precisely because of how they moved him around. He recorded a sack, he was excellent in coverage, and he sealed the win with an interception.

More importantly, Dallas used him as a true chess piece. He played deep safety, lined up at nickel, fit the run, and even rushed the passer as a blitzer. It felt like the first game in a long time in which Christian Parker was able to deploy him that way.

The numbers show what Locke’s return meant

I don’t think that was a coincidence. Locke was back in the lineup, which gave the Cowboys two quality safeties other than Downs. That depth is what freed him up.

Take a look at the alignment numbers from that game. Locke himself was moved around, as he lined up in the slot 12 times, at free safety 15 times, and in the box 16 times. Downs, meanwhile, was everywhere:

• 5 snaps on the defensive line
• 15 snaps in the box
• 9 snaps at free safety 
• 35 snaps in the slot

It was the first game of the season in which Downs logged at least five snaps at each of those four spots. He had a similar spread in Week 8 against the Cardinals, which happens to be the game Locke returned from injury.

Whenever the Cowboys have dealt with injuries at safety (or even at cornerback), Downs has been locked into one spot. He needs the freedom to roam. And that’s much tougher to pull off with a backup safety on the field and a banged-up secondary to disguise.

What happens at nickel?

The nickel spot adds another wrinkle. Dallas released Reddy Stewart earlier in the week, so the options there are thinner, too.

The Cowboys could look at Derion Kendrick for the nickel role. Or they could slide Cobie Durant inside whenever Downs isn’t playing there, especially if Joey Porter Jr. returns from injury. In that scenario, Dallas could start Porter and a second outside corner with Durant in the slot. The Cowboys will likely make a decision on Porter at the end of the week. 

It’s a workable plan on paper. But once again, the Cowboys are going to have to shuffle their secondary around, and I don’t see that benefiting their most versatile defender.

Downs proved what he can do when he’s free to move. Dallas will have to decide how much of that freedom it can afford to give him.