Todd Archer
FRISCO, Texas — Three games into the season, the Dallas Cowboys are down three starters on offense for multiple weeks.
Pro Bowl wide receiver CeeDee Lamb could miss three to four weeks with a left high ankle sprain suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, and rookie right guard Tyler Booker, the Cowboys’ first-round pick, is looking at a four-to-six-week absence due to a high ankle sprain, a source told ESPN.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Monday that both players will miss “games” and said injured reserve is a consideration.
“We’re looking at that,” Jones said. “We’ll watch it a few more days. We don’t have to decide right now.”
The Cowboys lost center Cooper Beebe in Week 2 with a broken bone in his right foot that landed him on injured reserve. It is not the way Jones wanted to go into Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
“We’re early in the season and you look, I mean I really would say that we got enough here to get this done,” Jones said. “We got enough. We really do. But it is frustrating just not just for this game but the fact that you’re looking at potentially games. That’s frustrating. We’re going to have players back though that are coming … But yeah, that’s a setback for us. Lamb, of course, is a real serious loss for us.”
If Lamb and Booker are placed on injured reserve, they would miss at least the next four games. It’s not clear when Booker was hurt since he played all 74 offensive snaps Sunday.
After the Packers game on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys play at the New York Jets (Oct. 5) and Carolina Panthers (Oct. 12), and then host the Washington Commanders (Oct. 19).
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer did not put a timetable on Lamb’s return.
“He’ll miss some time, but CeeDee is a guy who heals quickly, and he will do everything in his power to get back,” Schottenheimer said Monday.
Lamb entered the Chicago matchup with consecutive 100-yard receiving games to open the season. He played just six snaps against the Bears, however, and did not have a catch. Lamb has missed just three games in his career. He missed one in 2021 because of a concussion and two last year because of a shoulder injury after the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention.
Lamb suffered the injury with 8:34 left in the first quarter on a carry as a running back when linebacker Noah Sewell landed on the back of his legs, causing Lamb’s ankle to twist. Lamb missed the next 14 snaps over two series. He returned for the first play of the second quarter and looked to be lumbering when he moved.
He said after the game that he wanted to return when he regained strength and mobility in his ankle, but that the medical staff held him out.
On Monday, Schottenheimer did not second-guess using Lamb as a running back when he suffered the injury.
“You call passes and runs for people and try to get them the ball, and it’s unfortunate,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re still going to call quarterback runs with Dak [Prescott] at times. You hate to see it happen, but, no, no second thoughts.”
George Pickens will become the Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver while Lamb is out. Pickens has 13 catches for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns through three games. Pickens was the top receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first three years before his trade to the Cowboys.
“It won’t be too much for George,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys also have wide receivers Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin and Ryan Flournoy on the 53-man roster.
“We are very fortunate to have a guy like GP. I think you saw Turp step up and make some plays. Jake Ferguson had an awesome game. But look, injuries are unfortunately a big part of this business, and it’s hard to replace a guy like CeeDee,” Schottenheimer said. “But guys got to step up and do that again and again … We still got plenty of ammunition to go do what we got to do.”
