The hope had certainly been that, by now, Dallas Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson would be back at practice and beginning to work his way back to action after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring injury in Week 3, when the team was playing Baltimore in Rio. We’re heading into the sixth week of Thompson’s absence, and the original projection for a return was between four and eight weeks. Hamstrings are notoriously fickle, and Thompson appears to be a good example of just how fickle. Not only is he still on the injured reserve list, but the Cowboys are not yet pulling him off of it. His 21-day practice window remains closed.
Thompson was the biggest financial investment the Cowboys made in terms of free-agent signings this offseason. He was given a three-year, $33 million contract in March. It was the largest free-agent investment in an outside signing for the Cowboys since 2012.
Jalen Thompson, Other Cowboys Have Injury Updates
Thompson has been working with the rehab group at Cowboys practice, but as Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News noted, “Cowboys S Jalen Thompson’s practice window has NOT been opened yet, per Brian Schottenheimer.”
The loss of Thompson has been difficult on a defense that came into this NFL season looking deep at safety, but has quickly seen that depth sapped. After Sunday’s disheartening loss to the Cardinals, both Caleb Downs and PJ Locke were in the concussion protocol, putting Dallas back in a difficult situation at the position. Both players were at practice and wearing helmets–a good sign that they could clear concussion protocol in the coming days, but they’re not there yet.
Dallas plays the Colts on the road on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Cowboys Still Delaying Roster Move on Injured $33 Million Star