DeMarcus

Lawrence

Lawrence hasn’t played since suffering a Lisfranc injury in Week 4 against the Giants. It was an injury that was supposed to take 4-8 weeks recovery time, but Lawrence remains on injured reserve with just three games left to go in the season and has not had his 21-day return window opened. Lawrence is in the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2022. If he’s not activated before the end of the season, then it’s possible that Week 4 game will be the last we’ve seen of him in a Cowboys uniform.

Lawrence was placed on injured reserve back on October 1st and is eligible to return at any time. Jones noted that while Lawrence is a “long shot” to play on Monday night, that his return is “not out of the question.” The Cowboys are 5-7 and have no real reason to rush Lawrence back onto the field. The team has yet to hope his 21-day return window, which will be the first sign of them planning to activate him from injured reserve.

He’ll miss the next four weeks at the very least with a foot injury that could sideline him even longer. He suffered the injury against the Giants on Thursday Night Football. With both Lawrence and Micah Parsons (ankle) likely out this week, Dallas’ pass rush is wounded ahead of Sunday night’s date with the Steelers.

Rapoport specifies Lawrence suffered a mid-foot sprain and will miss at least four weeks while recovering. If placed on the injured reserve/return list, Lawrence must miss four games. With the Cowboys’ bye week scheduled for Week 7, the team could choose to keep him on the 53-man roster with the hope that he returns in time for Week 9 instead.

This announcement comes shortly after the team announced that Micah Parsons suffered a high-ankle sprain in the victory. The Cowboys are at risk of being without their top two pass rushers for an extended period of time, although there’s a chance Parsons feels well enough to play in Week 5 against the Steelers with 10 days to get right. Lawrence has totaled 14 tackles, four TFLs, and three sacks in four games for the Cowboys this season, and could be a candidate for injured reserve if the Cowboys don’t think he’ll be back after a four-game absence.

Parsons got in a pair of limited sessions after being held out of practice to start the week. He and Demarcus Lawrence, who is also questionable with a foot issue, are both expected to play. The Giants are missing multiple linemen this week, teeing up Parsons for another elite day.

Lawrence finally got a limited session in on Friday after missing the last two days of practice. He’s expected to be active, but his status is probably a little more questionable than Ezekiel Elliott’s. If Lawrence misses the game, Dallas would be able to throw less overall pass rush at Kirk Cousins. Jerry Jones said earlier today that he expects Lawrence to play.

Head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed that Lawrence is expected to play on Sunday. Lawrence himself said on Wednesday that he expects to be active in Week 11, so it appears this foot injury is minor, although still worth monitoring. Barring any setbacks, we expect Lawrence will be ready to go for the week.

Lawrence didn’t participate in the team’s walkthrough on Wednesday but has already said he expects to play on Sunday against the Vikings. The veteran defensive end suffered a foot injury in Sunday’s loss to Green Bay but was not spotted with a cast or boot during Wednesday’s session. With two days left of practice, we’ll assume Lawrence is in good shape for Week 11 unless something indicates otherwise.

Lawrence had two years left on his contract, but the two sides ripped up that deal, and Lawrence is now inking a fully-guaranteed pact that keeps him in Dallas through 2024. The Cowboys needed to do something to lower Lawrence’s $27 million cap hit, and this was the trick. Lawrence missed 10 games last season with a broken foot and produced just three sacks in seven contests. He turns 30 next month, and both sides are hoping for a bounce-back year in the sack department.