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The Dallas Cowboys‘ defense will be down a trio of reserves for Sunday’s season-opener.
Head coach Jason Garrett announced that safeties Donovan Wilson and Darian Thompson and linebacker Luke Gifford — all of whom have ankle injuries — will not play against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium.
Neither of the three practiced Wednesday, Thursday or Friday as Dallas prepped for the rivalry game. They are the only players who won’t go versus Big Blue.
The Cowboys will roll with Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods as the starting safeties, with Kavon Frazier operating as the primary reserve.
For the Giants, tight end Garrett Dickerson (quad) was ruled out, as was wide receiver Darius Slayton (hamstring).
Dallas is otherwise healthy following a summer of sitouts, getting back previously-injured stars such as inside linebacker Sean Lee, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, wide receiver Amari Cooper, tackle Tyron Smith, and guard Zack Martin, who was limited each of the last three practices with a back ailment, and who was named an offensive captain.
“There really was no setbacks [this week],” Garrett said Thursday.
Both teams will release their list of inactives about 90 minutes prior to the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff from JerryWorld.
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Zeke Ready to Roll
While the Cowboys continue playing coy regarding Ezekiel Elliott’s Week 1 usage, the newly-minted highest-paid running back in the NFL will be active and in the starting lineup. Elliott has reimmersed himself into football activities since ending his holdout Wednesday, and should receive at least 20-25 snaps in his first action since 2018.
“He had a good practice Wednesday, was able to go out there and do what we asked him to do yesterday,” Garrett said, per Cowboys Maven. “He’s making progress as the week goes on.”
Dallas was granted a temporary roster exemption amid Elliott’s standoff, but they’ll need to formally clear a spot on the 53-man roster by Saturday afternoon. It’s possible the club axes reserve RB Jordan Chunn, who was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster on Monday.
Elliott Posts Epic Hype Video for 2019 Season
Goosebumps. That’s what Cowboys Nation is collectively feeling after Zeke posted a 2019 preview video to his Twitter account on Friday. The video — captioned “We Ready” — features highlights of the two-time rushing champion, now the league’s richest-ever running back, a lead-in to a campaign in which Big D has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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