Spate of injuries taking a toll on Cowboys’ offensive line
FRISCO — Four of Dallas’ five starting offensive linemen are dealing with injuries.
Left tackle Tyron Smith missed the last two days of practice while nursing a sore hamstring and right tackle La’el Collins was out Friday with a calf contusion and an illness.
Right guard Zack Martin is out until the start of the regular season with a hyper-extended knee and center Travis Frederick is out indefinitely with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
If there was ever any question about quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott playing in Sunday’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, that answers it.
Coach Jason Garrett said no official decision has been made. But owner Jerry Jones was pretty definitive about sitting Prescott and not risking his quarterback to injury.
Elliott did not play in the first two preseason games and the Cowboys have long taken a minimalist approach to his reps in the preseason.
“There’s a good chance,” Jones said of Prescott sitting on his radio show on Friday. “I don’t think we’ve completely decided yet, and that is Jason’s (Garrett) call by the way. But I think we’ll be pretty conservative here.”
The Cowboys don’t believe there is any need to use the game to get extra reps with Prescott and center Joe Looney, who is filling in for the Frederick. Garrett said the team will get enough in practice and Prescott said the two have good chemistry from his rookie season when he played behind Tony Romo in OTAs and minicamp before being named the starter.
The big concern remains the team’s ability to handle adversity up front, considering Smith’s absence last year proved to be the impetus of a three-game losing streak that derailed the season into a 9-7 finish and out of the playoffs.
Ravens’ Hurst could miss 3-4 weeks
Ravens first-round pick Hayden Hurst could be sidelined three to four weeks after undergoing a procedure to fix a stress fracture in his foot, the NFL Network reported.
The injury could keep the rookie tight end out until at least Week 3.
Hurst, the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to be the team’s top pass-catching tight end when healthy.
Three Jets players fined for illegal hits
New York Jets linebackers Jordan Jenkins, Darron Lee and Frankie Luvu were each fined $20,054 by the NFL for illegal hits in their preseason game at Washington last week.
Jenkins and Luvu were both docked for roughing the passer, while Lee was fined for a horsecollar tackle in the Jets’ 15-13 loss.
Odds and ends
Sam Darnold led the Jets on two touchdown drives, moving closer to securing the starting quarterback job in a 22-16 loss to the Giants at East Rutherford, N.J. The No. 3 overall draft pick finished 8 of 16 for 86 yards — including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Terrelle Pryor. … Adrian Peterson showed Washington what it needed to see in his debut by rushing for 56 yards on 11 carries in a 29-17 loss to the Broncos at Landover, Md. Peterson carried the ball seven consecutive plays on one possession, picked up 15 yards on fourth-and-1. … Case Keenum and Denver’s first-team offense scored on three of five possessions. Keenum completed 12 of 18 passes for 148 yards. … Indianapolis signed CB Juante Baldwin and placed QB Brad Kaaya on the waived-injured list. …
Browns QB Tyrod Taylor is not expected to miss any time after dislocating his left pinky and bruising his hand against Philadelphia. Taylor landed awkwardly on his non-throwing hand in Thursday’s exhibition. … The Jets signed former Chiefs RB Charcandrick West, who was waived by Kansas City two days ago. … QB Cam Newton gave the Panthers an early scare before returning to help Carolina defeat the Patriots 25-14. On the game’s opening drive, Newton scrambled out of the pocket before diving head-first and landing on his head after getting upended by CB Jonathan Jones. Newton left the game but returned four plays later.