Injury Update: Zeke Limited; Cowboys Changing Punters
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys punter Chris Jones has been playing hurt for three years, his latest issue necessitating core muscle surgery. So the new punter will be Hunter Niswander, formerly of the XFL's DC Defenders.
Jones of course did not practice on Wednesday. And later in the day, two other names pop up on the injury list; is he Keel Elliott with a hamstring and Aldon Smith with a knee. ... hopefully both minor issues.
In the XFL as a Defender, the 6-5, 240-pound Niswander was listed as a kicker and a punter. On his 21 punts, he finished second in the league on average yards per punt of 44.6.
Niswander was a three-year starter at Northwestern University, where he punted for a total of 230 times, averaging 40.4 yards per punt. In his senior year, he averaged 43.0 yards per punt.
Niswander was recently signed to the Cowboys practice squad, his elevation coming with the hope that he can match what Jones has done in terms of body of work ... and maybe exceed what Jones has done more recently while attempting to play hurt for a 2-6 Dallas club that on Sunday plays host to the Pittsburgh Steelers at AT&T Stadium.
Jones' recovery will be a "multi-week'' issue, according to Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who is hoping to get better news on the injury front as cornerback Chidobe Awuzie plans to practice on some level on Wednesday here at The Star in Frisco. McCarthy is also supervising yet another change at the quarterback position, where Dak Prescott is out for the year and Andy Dalton is out due to COVID ... so practice-squad-level journeymen Cooper Rush and Garrett Gilbert are battling it out for this week's starting QB job, with rookie Ben DiNucci - last week's starter in a loss at Philly - not in the running.
