Photo Credit: Dallas Cowboys
FRISCO, TEXAS — The Cowboys lost several key players to injury in Sunday night’s loss to the Rams before halftime. On Monday, the worst possible outcome was confirmed. Both injuries to tight end Blake Jarwin and middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch are long-term.
Jarwin will miss the rest of the 2020 season after tearing his ACL while running a route in the second quarter at SoFi Stadium. Once the team got back to Dallas and Jarwin was evaluated, an MRI on Monday confirmed the postgame fear. Executive vice president Stephen Jones gave the update on 105.3 The Fan.
“ I think it’s pretty clear that Jarwin is, unfortunately, going to have to have his ACL repaired, and we all know what that means, “ Jones stated. “ Obviously a tough loss for us.”
Going into his fourth year, Jarwin had received the break he had been waiting for. After Jason Witten’s departure to the Raiders in free agency, he was now the club’s number one tight end. He impressed throughout camp with his pass-catching ability. Jarwin consistently worked the middle of the field and would have been a nightmare mismatch for linebackers. In his absence, Dalton Schultz, Blake Bell, and Sean McKeon will have more opportunities to step in and contribute.
Jarwin will undergo surgery this week, along with Leighton Vander Esch. He broke his collarbone in the first quarter in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Rams. He is headed to injured reserve and will miss 6-8 weeks.
“ Certainly Leighton is going to have his collarbone repaired and go on the injured list to return, “ Stephen Jones noted on 105.3 The Fan.
His injury rap sheet is beginning to resemble that of teammate Sean Lee. Vander Esch missed seven games last season after being sidelined with a neck/spinal injury that required surgery. He went through the rehab process and looked fresh and unbothered with a full range of motion in training camp.
At the outset of the 2020 season, new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan switched Vander Esch from the weak side to middle linebacker where he assumed more responsibilities calling the defense. The swap played into Jaylon Smith’s strengths and would allow him to just simply react and flow from sideline-to-sideline making plays on the ball, like he did at Notre Dame. Once Vander Esch exited the game, Joe Thomas came in as the WILL and Jaylon switched back to the MIKE.
Sean Lee is currently on injured reserve as he works his way back from a sports hernia. He could be eligible to play in week four barring any setbacks.
In regards to exploring the market to bring in additional depth at tight end and linebacker, Mike McCarthy stated, “ We have excellent options and the reality is we will take the full week to prepare and get as many players ready as possible as we fit our plan together for the Falcons. We will probably make those determinations around Saturday. We will let the game plan process answer those questions for us. “
“ I think it will be more from our practice squad and obviously Will [McClay] is always working on the whole league and looking at those situations. This is an ongoing process but I love all the guys we have here and we will figure it out as we go through the game plan process. “
Cowboys’ swing tackle Cam Erving will miss time after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee against the Rams during a missed field goal attempt in the second quarter. With La’el Collins on IR, that leaves second-year Brandon Knight as the available depth option with Terence Steele as the current starting right tackle in for Collins.
