It’s not quite the season the Dallas Cowboys had hoped for when it comes to Jalen Thompson, the biggest free-agent acquisition the team had made in over a decade, with a $33 million, three-year contract. The Cowboys do not like to spend money on the free-agent market, feeling that is is an enticement to overpaying, but they needed back-end help and Thompson was their man. Except he’s just not been on the field for this team.
Thompson suffered a Grade 2 hamstring injury in Week 3, when the team was playing Baltimore in Rio. We’re now in the seventh week of Thompson’s absence, and the original projection for a return was between four and eight weeks. It can be said that Thompson is officially behind schedule on that. Hamstrings are notoriously fickle, and certainly the team wants Thompson back at 100%. But not only is he not returning to the field this week, he might not do so for a few weeks. The Cowboys are not yet pulling him off of it. His 21-day practice window remains closed.
Cowboys’ Jalen Thompson Still Not Practicing
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer conceded that this week.
From Tommy Yarrish of the team website: “Cowboys S Jalen Thompson worked with the rehab group during the media’s viewing portion of practice today. The Cowboys have not yet opened his 21-day practice window.”
That’s the worrisome aspect of Thompson’s situation. Under NFL rules, teams can open the practice window and give players three weeks to ramp up before a return. But Thompson’s hamstring is not even ready for the ramp-up. It is possible that, when his practice window is opened, the Cowboys can play him right away–it is not required that he takes three weeks to practice before returning–but given the length of time he has missed, the Cowboys will want to see him on the field a bit.
So, unless he miraculously starts practicing on Thursday, it’s almost certain that Thompson won’t play in Week 10, and Week 11 is not looking great, either. But, fingers are crossed at The Star. The Cowboys play the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday in Arlington.
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