FRISCO, Texas — There is good news regarding the Dallas Cowboys' injury report heading into their pivotal Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, and it's headlined by tight end Jake Ferguson and former first-round pick Mazi Smith, both having injury scares as of late.
Ferguson suffered a mild MCL sprain in the regular season debut and victory over the Cleveland Browns that he initially thought might have been a torn ACL, but thankfully was not, and he "was close" to taking the field against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, thought the Cowboys opted to rest him instead for the sake of precaution and longevity.
He returned to practice in a limited capacity on Wednesday and Thursday, but was a full participant on Friday — indicating he will be available to return and take on the Ravens.
Smith left practice early on Wednesday with back tightness and did not return, nor did he participate on Thursday, but head coach Mike McCarthy was impressed with Smith's progress on Friday and it led to full participation in the team's mock game; and also a "full steam ahead" stamp of approval from McCarthy despite being listed as questionable on the final injury report.
With Jordan Phillips being moved to injured reserve, and even with the reunion with defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, having Smith on the field will be paramount in the attempt to try and halt or slow down Derrick Henry.
Jalen Brooks popped up on the injury report with an ankle injury but practiced fully on Friday as well, a sign he'll likely not be ruled out, either, though also tagged with a game designation of questionable, seemingly as a precaution.
The initial injury report was headlined this week by Trevon Diggs (foot) and CeeDee Lamb (ankle), but both have now practiced multiple days this week and there is little to no indication they'll be absent on Sunday, with owner and general manager Jerry Jones speaking confidently to that fact on Friday.
It will be all hands on deck against Lamar Jackson and a Ravens defense that are desperate to avoid an 0-3 record and, DaRon Bland notwithstanding, the Cowboys are as whole right now as they could hope to be.
