FRISCO, Texas – Wide receiver Cole Beasley sprained his foot in the Cowboys' 13-10 victory over the Saints, but the team is "hopeful that it's not going to be a long-term thing," head coach Jason Garrett said Friday.
Beasley appeared to get hurt on a key third-down conversion in the third quarter that eventually forced the Saints to start using timeouts.
The Cowboys have a full weekend off and don't play again until Dec. 9 at home against Philadelphia.
Beasley was getting close to surpassing the 50-catch mark for the third time in his career. He currently has 48 receptions for a team-high 468 yards. Beasley leads the Cowboys' wide receivers in catches, and only trails Ezekiel Elliott (53 receptions) for the team lead.
While there is never a good time to lose a proven receiver such as Beasley, the timing could be worse. It appears the Cowboys are close to getting Tavon Austin back from a groin injury that has sidelined him since the Jaguars game on Oct. 14. Austin should be able to work out of the slot and return punts if Beasley can't go.
In other injury news, Garrett is hopeful left tackle Tyron Smith will be able to practice next week after not playing a second straight game due to a stinger.
"We'll just see how he does here over the next few days and hopefully as we get going with our first regular practice on Wednesday, hopefully he'll be out there," Garrett said.
Left guard Xavier Su'a-Filo should also benefit from the team's extended break. He played through an ankle injury Thursday after being limited in practice during the week.
"Didn't grade out as well as he has, and I do think his ankle had an impact on that," Garrett said. "Just probably wasn't moving as well, probably wasn't as strong as he's been, and I think that impacted his technique as well. He's a tough guy, he battled, he fought, he did all of that, but just probably didn't play quite as well and I do think the ankle probably had something to do with it. Hopefully he can heal up and he'll be ready to go next week."
