Injuries already biting Cowboys hard
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dallas Cowboys kept a lot of their starters in street clothes on Friday night, but the list was not long enough.
Watching defensive tackle Neville Gallimore leave Friday night’s game in Arizona with an arm injury is not what this rosters needs, or is built to address.
He suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Cowboys’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals in their second preseason game 19-16. The word is a hyper extension of his left elbow.
Another injury to keep an eye on — the “foot” of defensive end Randy Gregory. He was sent back to Texas early and was not with the team on Friday night.
Gallimore’s injury will at least finish his preseason. He is scheduled for an MRI shortly after the team returns to Texas.
The reaction from the locker room was not encouraging.
“It sucked,” Cowboys linebacker Keanu Neal said. “It hurt pretty bad seeing that, I’m not going to lie. He has the ability to get to the quarterback. You can tell he was making a leap from Year 1 to Year 2. Wish him a speedy recovery.” Yeah, that’s not ideal. “He’s going to do his rehab, get better, and still be there for us like he always is,” defensive end Dorance Armstrong said. “He’ll be all right. He’s a tough guy.”
Gallimore is not a Pro Bowl player, but he is the Cowboys’ best interior defensive lineman on a roster that doesn’t have many. Or any.
“I’d put it in the category of significant, but until we get all of the scans and the full diagnosis I don’t have a timeline,” Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy said.
Also on the “ouch” list from Friday night are WR Malik Turner (foot), TE Sean McKeon (ankle), LB Anthony Hines (elbow) and OT Ty Nsekhe (knee).
Of the five Cowboys who suffered injuries on Friday night, Gallimore’s hurts the most. He’s a second-year player this defense needs.
One of the major reasons this defense was so bad in 2020 was the horrendous play from the middle. The Cowboys gave up the second most rushing yards per game in the NFL, a perfect formula to lose games.
It wasn’t just the line that was bad. It was the linebackers and safeties, too.
The line, other than end DeMarcus Lawrence, struggled.
Defensive tackle Trysten Hill showed some positive signs of developing last season, but he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 5.
The promise this season is Gallimore, a big human being who can stuff the middle. Maybe not totally collapse a pocket from the inside, but stop the line from cratering for 8-yard runs so easily.
Defensive tackles like Carlos Watkins and Brent Urban look to be more fill-out-the-roster type of players rather than guys who make a significant difference.
The Cowboys can hard sell the addition of new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, but if he doesn’t have players all of his four-letter motivational speak can’t do much.
Quinn is an upgrade over the fired Mike Nolan, but Quinn needs Neville Gallimore.
“You talk about players taking a second-year jump, he definitely illustrated that. You could see it in the spring,” McCarthy said. “Had a great offseason. Was having a great camp. Just unfortunate.”
This is not what this team needs, and keep an eye on Randy Gregory’s foot.