Dallas Cowboys Rumors: Dez Bryant’s Official Status For Tomorrow’s Game With Giants And Update On Tony Romo’s Return
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off their bye week and are preparing to take on the New York Giants and hopefully end a three-game wining streak. They are going to still be without quarterback Tony Romo, but Matt Cassel will be taking over as the starter for the team. The biggest question though is if wide receiver Dez Bryant will be back from injury, and as of Saturday, the official word is that he will not.
On Friday, the Cowboys released their official injury report for the game with the Giants, and Bryant was listed as doubtful. That gave a slim chance that he could possibly play. On Saturday afternoon, NFL.com reported that the slim chance went to none when Bryant’s status for Sunday was officially downgraded to out.
Bryant did not travel to New York with the team on Friday, but some thought he could end up joining the team on Saturday That obviously did not happen and he will not be playing at all this week.
Dez Bryant has been out since breaking a bone in week 1 of the NFL season which was oddly enough a game with the same New York Giants. His broken foot required surgery and this will mark the fifth straight game he has missed due to injury.
Dallas has said nothing official about when Bryant will return, but he could end up returning on Nov. 1 for the home game with the Seattle Seahawks.
Cassel won’t be without a number of good targets though. He will have Cole Beasley, Terrance Williams, and tight end Jason Witten. Chances are that he will also be working with a new starting running back as well.
Christine Michael is expected to get his first start of the season for the Cowboys after coming over from the Seattle Seahawks a few weeks ago. Darren McFadden has still not shown much and Joseph Randle has come under fire by the coaches for some of his in-game actions the past couple of weeks.
Randle has truly drawn anger from different coaches due to his fumbling and diving into the end zone which they’ve told him not to do. Even after being told to stop diving over the pile, Randle ended up doing it anyway.
Michael is expected to start and see a lot more playing time against the Giants on Sunday.
According to the Star-Telegram, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is very encouraged by the progress of quarterback Tony Romo as he recovers from a broken left clavicle. While he isn’t throwing yet, there are advancements, as Garrett has said.
“Making progress. Obviously he can’t do anything on the practice field. He’s four games away from doing it, but I think he’s made progress. He’s moving around better. I think there is some things that are uncomfortable for him, but I think as you look at how he’s healed, everything has been positive up to this point.”
Due to being placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list, Romo can’t officially practice with the Cowboys until Nov. 1. The soonest he could possibly return to play would be the Nov. 22 game against the Miami Dolphins.
That has not been ruled out by the Cowboys, but they’re going to wait and see how he does once he begins practicing again. If not against the Dolphins, the Cowboys play a few days later on Thanksgiving against the Carolina Panthers in what could be a crucial NFC game.
The Dallas Cowboys have dealt with a lot of big injuries this season and it’s shown by their 2-3 record and three-game losing streak. Tony Romo’s return is still weeks away, but Dez Bryant could be back very soon. Unfortunately, it won’t be Sunday against the New York Giants, as has been the hope.
[Images via Getty Images – Ronald Martinez]
