Cowboys brutally bitten by injury bug ahead of NFL preseason opener

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The Dallas Cowboys have been hit extremely hard by the injury bug so far during fall camp.
Even before Thursday's practice began, Dallas had seen starting left tackle Tyler Guyton, veteran guard Rob Jones, tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, corner Caelen Carson, defensive tackle Mazi Smith, and safety Juanyeh Thomas, among others, sidelined with injuries - some of which were either long-term or, in Jones' case, season-ending.
However, with the team now just 48 hours away from their preseason opener, it appears that they're not out of the woods just yet in the health department.
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According to reports from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Nick Harris on Thursday, four different Cowboys players went down with injuries.
The list was headlined by running back Jaydon Blue, who was carted off of the field after being pulled down by his face mask by defensive end Sam Williams with what has only been described as a lower-body injury, as well as starting tight end Jake Ferguson, who suffered a lower back issue, and had just signed a new contract extension coming off of an injury-filled season.

Blue comes as a particularly hard blow for Dallas, however, because he had begun to make a serious name for himself thus far through camp, even earning reps with the first team offense at points.
Elsewhere, Offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley also left practice with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, in some positive news for Dallas, starting right tackle Terence Steele also suffered a setback, with an eye issue, but was able to return to practice shortly after.
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Fortunately, in some positive news for Dallas, starting right tackle Terence Steele also suffered a setback, with an eye issue, but was able to return to practice shortly after.
Regardless, with the jury still out on Blue, Ferguson and Shepley, that now makes more than 10 Cowboys who could potentially miss the preseason opener against the Rams.

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Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.
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