PHILADELPHIA -- Injuries can be the great equalizer in attempting to put together a 46-man roster for gameday.
For the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys know they will be without Dez Bryant (foot) and Randy Gregory (ankle). Tight end James Hanna was ruled out on Saturday when he didn’t make the trip to Philadelphia because of a knee injury that flared up Friday. It’s highly likely they’ll be without Ronald Leary (groin), too.
That leaves three more players to be inactive.
The biggest change should be at receiver. Instead of dressing five, I would expect newly acquired receiver Brice Butler to be inactive because he simply doesn’t know the system well enough yet.
On the offensive line, the Cowboys will still dress seven players with La'el Collins, who was inactive last week, and Charles Brown, who was not on the roster last week, serving as the backups.
The Cowboys dressed seven defensive linemen last week, which was a little surprising. With the way the Eagles play, the Cowboys would seem to need more. Ryan Russell would take Gregory’s spot after being inactive for the opener.
In trying to fill out the final spot, does it make more sense to take a receiver unfamiliar with the scheme, a fourth running back (Christine Michael) or an eighth defensive lineman.
To me, it’s the defensive lineman. That puts Davon Coleman and Ken Bishop into the mix. Considering how poorly the Eagles ran the ball in their opener, I would think they will be hell bent on running it Sunday. Bishop is the better run defender. Coleman is the better pass-rusher, and the Cowboys will have to use Jack Crawford at defensive end more than normal with Gregory out.
So to project the inactives, here goes: Bryant, Leary, Hanna, Gregory, Bishop, Butler and Michael.
