RIO DE JANEIRO -- For the third straight game, the Dallas Cowboys have a lost a safety for multiple weeks due to injury.
Jalen Thompson was knocked from the 34-31 loss against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday with a hamstring injury with 7:40 left in the first half when he was caught in an awkward spot on a Derrick Henry run.
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Monday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Thompson could miss "four-plus weeks." Thompson is scheduled for an MRI after the team's return to Dallas earlier Monday.
"We've been hit there [at safety], no question," Jones said. He added, "We're needing every last one of them right now because of the injuries."
Malik Hooker suffered a broken forearm in the season opener against the New York Giants and is recovering from surgery. He could return as soon as next week against the Houston Texans. P.J. Locke suffered a torn plantar fascia last week and was placed on injured reserve Saturday. The earliest he can return is Oct. 26 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In March, Thompson signed the richest free agent deal the Cowboys have given out in more than a decade at three years, $33 million. He started the first two weeks and entered Sunday's game as the defense's second-leading tackler.
Hooker could return this week against the Houston Texans, but if he does not, the Cowboys will be down to Caleb Downs, Markquese Bell and Alijah Clark at safety. Bell missed time against the Ravens because of dehydration.
Jones said the Cowboys will look to see if there is a way to "shore up" the position with Locke and Thompson out for a prolonged time.
