There were plenty of injury woes to report on during the Cowboys' stay in Oxnard, Calif., and there will be plenty more back in Dallas – as Lance Dunbar has already shown Monday morning.
It's an obvious frustration for players, it's frustrating for reporters to keep up with and it's frustrating for fans to read about. Lest anyone think the Cowboys' injury bug is a unique circumstance, however, a look around the division will remind you about the volatile nature of health in football.
Anyone who watched the first 10 minutes of New York's loss to Indianapolis on Sunday night saw that. Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz left the game during the game's first drive with what turned out to be a bruised heel. The newly-extended wideout reportedly underwent X-Rays, which were negative.
That's quite juxtaposition for Cruz, who torched Pittsburgh for a 57-yard touchdown in the first quarter of the Giants' preseason opener. It has to be extra frustrating for New York – particularly its fanbase – as Cruz got hurt in the same game that fellow wideout Hakeem Nicks returned from a groin injury.
If that wasn't bad enough, starting center David Baas left the game on the same drive when he sprained his MCL during a pileup.
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That's just two more bodies to add to the growing list this offseason. The Cowboys lost backup defensive end Tyrone Crawford for the season on the first day of training camp, not to mention a litany of smaller injuries. The Eagles can't seem to keep any wide receivers healthy, headlined by the loss of Jeremy Maclin for the season. The Redskins, famously, are trying to rehab their franchise quarterback for the season opener.
I shouldn't need to tell anyone that the Giants' injury problems are more significant, though. Any injury sustained by either New York or Dallas is almost assuredly going to impact the season opener between the two – which is now less than three weeks away.
It doesn't look like the injuries to Cruz and Baas are too significant, but anyone who has followed the sport should know that "day-to-day" can often mean two or more weeks (see: Claiborne, Morris).
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was fond of saying, back in July, that there was still plenty of time to get guys healthy before the games started to matter. But that's hardly the case at this point. Every tweak and every sprain from here on out will likely affect player availability when these two teams kick off on Sept. 8.
The question now for the Cowboys and Giants is, who can get healthier faster?
