The Dallas Cowboys defense certainly needs all the help it can get at this point. After a complete overhaul last winter, starting with defensive coordinator Christian Parker, the expectations for a change in results were high. The team would have a full training camp with star linemen Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, they’d have a rebuilt secondary with top free-agent signing Jalen Thompson and No. 11 overall pick Caleb Downs, and they’d have improvements at linebacker and cornerback. It’s been rough going through two weeks, with the dangerous Ravens offense up next. But a break for Dallas: Zay Flowers is trending not to play.
Wrote Adam Schefter of ESPN on Twitter/X: “Ravens are working out WR Zay Flowers pre game to determine whether he can play with his hamstring injury vs. the Cowboys. One source called it a ‘true pre-game decision,’ but the team doesn’t sound as if it is counting on him playing.”
Zay Flowers Not Likely Playing vs. Cowboys
Flowers, then, is not completely out of the Week 3 matchup with the Cowboys in Rio on Sunday, but he is either not going to play or likely to be severely limited. That potentially removes a key weapon for quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is a major concern for the Dallas defense because of his running ability–the Cowboys struggled to contain quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Jayden Daniels in Weeks 1 and 2, and though both are good runners, Jackson is the best in the league.
Flowers had 86 catches for 1,211 yards last season. He suffered a hamstring strain at the end of August, and attempted to return in Week 1, when he caught five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. But he aggravated the injury in that game, and sat out in Week 2.
Break for the Defense
The Cowboys, of course, have their own issues with injuries, and the fact that Flowers might not be out there can only help a secondary that has three top players out–Malik Hooker and PJ Locke, two safeties, and Cobie Durant, who had been starting at cornerback opposite DaRon Bland.
The Cowboys expect to have Shavon Revel starting in place of Durant, and while Markquese Bell is supposed to start at safety, the team says special teams star Alijah Clark will get significant run, too.
The Cowboys and Ravens kick off from Brazil at 4:25 pm ET.
Cowboys Get a Break as Ravens ‘Not Counting On’ Star in Week 3