Cowboys Reveal Status On 3 Defensive Starters For Giants Game
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are ringing in the New Year in a way that feels very reminiscent of the old year: Positive testing for COVID-19, pushing the team into NFL protocol - meaning the Friday practice is a "virtual'' one.
“All the virtual meetings are occurring with the coaches and players, and we’ll back to, I guess, what you would call a standard Saturday schedule in the morning,” coach Mike McCarthy said.
Safety Darian Thompson and defensive tackle Justin Hamilton on Saturday were moved to the NFL's reserve/COVID list.
Additionally on Friday, the Cowboys and Giants produced their final practice/injury report for the week. As expected Leighton Vander Esch has been ruled out for Sunday. But Chidobe Awuzie is a full go and Xavier Woods is questionable
McCarthy said the Cowboys are following contact tracing and intensive protocols that have been put in place by the team and the NFL. That apparently includes, in this case, coaches in the building at The Star in Frisco but players working from home.
Contact tracing is the next key issue here. Using the case of Thompson: What was his level of contact this week with the other DBs? And here is where Dallas might catch a break: Thompson has spend the week in concussion protocol, lessening the likelihood of contact with other teammates.
READ MORE: Dallas Cowboys 'Good Guy' Ezekiel Elliott On His Health and 1,000 Yards
READ MORE: Aikman EXCLUSIVE: Dallas Cowboys Will 'Sleep Well' If They Sign Dak
The Cowboys are set to play the most important game of their 2020 season on the third day of 2021, Sunday at noon CT at the New York Giants. A Week 17 there, along with a night-time loss by the Washington Football Team to Philadelphia, and Dallas wins the NFC East and a berth in the NFL Playoffs.
At which point ...
“We’ve all seen it happen,” McCarthy said. “You get hot in December, it’s the way you want to enter the playoffs because anything can happen in the playoffs.“
Starting QB Andy Dalton is the highest-profile Cowboy who has tested positive during the season. In New York, the Giants (who can also win the division with a victory in the noon game followed by a Washington loss) have their own new COVID issue, as on Friday morning they announced that offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo tested positive, putting them in the same procedures-and-protocols circumstance as Dallas finds itself in.
