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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons will miss his third straight game because of a high left ankle sprain when the Cowboys play the San Francisco 49ers Sunday.
Parsons has not practiced since suffering the injury in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ win on Sept. 26 against the New York Giants, but he has made improvement that could see him return next week against the Atlanta Falcons.
At the time of the injury, sources said Parsons would miss 2-4 weeks. He has been doing on-field rehab this week and during the Cowboys’ bye last week.
The debut of Pro Bowl cornerback DaRon Bland will also have to wait. He was also ruled out of the San Francisco game. He had foot surgery in August for a stress fracture and returned to practice Oct. 9 but had soreness and has not practiced in the past week-plus.
His 21-day practice window will close on Monday, so the Cowboys will either have to keep him on injured reserve or add him to the 53-man roster, which is most likely. Linebacker Eric Kendricks (shoulder) is questionable, but coach Mike McCarthy indicated Kendricks is trending in the right direction to play after missing the Cowboys’ last game.
Cornerback Caelen Carson (shoulder) and linebacker Nick Vigil (foot) are also questionable.
This could be the debut of running back Dalvin Cook, who has spent the season on the practice squad. The Cowboys have the worst-ranked rushing offense (77.2 yards per game) and have not had a 100-yard rusher in a franchise-record 20 games.
Cook had four straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Minnesota Vikings (2019-22). Rico Dowdle leads the Cowboys in rushing with 246 yards on 54 carries. Ezekiel Elliott has 115 yards on 38 carries.
McCarthy said the Cowboys will use the entire practice week before making a decision on Cook. The team will have a practice on Saturday before flying to San Francisco.
“Dalvin’s ready. I really like the work that he’s putting in,” McCarthy said. “I think he’s clearly crossed over the threshold for communication, the understanding and the most important, just the, at the line, the nonverbal, the visual communication, which is the final point. I think he’s definitely in position to do that.”
