Arguably the biggest move of the offseason for the Dallas Cowboys came in free agency back in March, when the team did something it rarely does: shelled out for a relatively expensive free agent. The player was Jalen Thompson, the Cardinals safety, and the contract was the biggest the team had given out to an outside free agent in more than a decade–$33 million over three years. The philosophy of Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones, the Cowboys’ honchos, has long been that NFL free agency is a sucker’s game, that it forces teams into overpaying to bring in talent, and so far, the Thompson experience has not done much to dissuade them from that notion.
Thompson played three games when he injured his hamstring, and he has been on the injured reserve since. He is eligible to come off the list this week, and that is obviously not yet in the cards. But on Thursday, it was reported, too, that the Cowboys are not even opening the practice window yet on Thompson, a worrisome development that could signal his recovery from the injury is going to need more time than expected. The Cowboys would have to activate Thompson within three weeks of opening the window.
Cowboys Dealing With Jalen Thompson, Other Injuries
The Cowboys did open the practice window on defensive end Jonathan Bullard, as Patrik Walker of the team website reported.
He wrote: “#Cowboys transaction: Jonathan Bullard’s 21-day practice window has been activated by the team — another defender nearing his return. no activation yet for Jalen Thompson.”
But there is still some concerning news on the injury front after Thursday’s practice. The Cowboys had limited participation from rookie Caleb Downs (ankle), star lineman Quinnen Williams (hamstring) and George Pickens (shoulder) on Wednesday, which was not a big concern coming off a Monday night game. All three were limited in practice on Thursday, too, though, and that will bear watching this weekend.
Dallas plays the Cardinals at AT&T Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
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