CeeDee Lamb’s return to practice has given Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer a much-needed boost, as three key players begin ramping up activity ahead of Week 7. With injuries easing, Dallas hopes to stabilize an offense that’s been productive but incomplete.
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The Cowboys have struggled to take full control this season. They’re averaging 29.7 points per game, but also giving up 30.7 points, leaving them in a constant state of tension, like a team waiting for the next setback. However, this week brings a wave of good news.
Lamb (ankle), Tyler Booker (ankle), and KaVontae Turpin (foot) are all increasing their practice workload. A team source confirmed, “This is the week that they ramp up.” It’s not just about getting players back. The Cowboys need to fix an offense that has leaned heavily on Dak Prescott, who is averaging 269.5 passing yards per game but is still missing key contributors.
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The 26-year-old wide receiver’s return is especially important. In just three games before his injury, he posted 222 receiving yards, showing elite production. His absence has forced others to carry more weight, and getting him back could restore balance and explosiveness to the offense.
Even with George Pickens leading the team with a whopping 525 receiving yds and 6 TDs. But if the offense has to win every shootout, they need all hands on deck because the defense has been giving up an average of 428.7 total yds per game.
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The relentless parade of injury reports, however, reads like a Beckett play. Every single player you look at is limited. Marshawn Kneeland (ankle) is limited. Donovan Wilson (elbow/knee) is limited. Jack Sanborn (concussion) is also limited.
It makes you wonder how long they can sustain a playoff push without full participation, especially when you consider how porous the secondary has been: Dallas ranks dead last in the NFL in EPA per pass allowed.
With so many key players stuck in limited status and the defense leaking yards, the Cowboys face a critical decision point, do they wait for internal healing, or look outward for reinforcements?
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To trade or not to trade?
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones is balancing the known and the unknown, admitting that the team is “weigh[ing] what are the likelihood of the players we’ve got coming back, how will they impact where that will put this team as opposed to should we add a player in a trade?”
That’s the classic high-wire act of the modern NFL: bet on your current guys to heal up, or sacrifice precious draft capital for a mercenary.
The need is particularly for a pass rusher who can generate pressure without relying on complex blitz schemes. The current sack leader, Julian Houston, has just 3.5 sacks through 6 games. This is where the trade rumors start to get real.
You’ve got a guy like Arden Key in Tennessee, a 2026 free agent, who’s already notched 1.5 sacks this season despite the Titans’ dumpster fire of a year. Then there’s the big swing: Bradley Chubb from Miami, a man with 43.5 career sacks who is recovering from a devastating torn ACL. Acquiring him would require serious draft picks, but you’d be buying a defensive star, a proven talent who tied for the NFL lead in FF (6) just last year.
But the Cowboys’ situation is just one messy entry in the league’s collective notebook right now.
Vets Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been sniffing around, and the trade winds are howling. Graziano noted the biggest whisper is that the Jets might actually deal Breece Hall, a 24-year-old in the final year of his deal, because they love their younger backs. That’s a massive shift in the RB market.
Meanwhile, Fowler pointed out the NFC West is dealing with its own tragedy: the 49ers are straight-up banged up, especially with Fred Warner (ankle) and Nick Bosa (torn ACL) down. When the league’s heavyweights start looking mortal, that’s when a team like Dallas needs to take stock and realize they’re running out of time to fix their flaws.
They have the extra draft picks from the Micah Parsons trade. Do you stand pat and wait for the “limited” players to go “full,” or do you invest in a game-changer like Trent McDuffie to fix that league-worst EPA allowed?
