The Cowboys are so far from overreacting to tight end Jake Ferguson's knee injury that they haven't even ruled him out for Week 2's home opener against the Saints on Sunday.
That would be remarkable for a guy who had sprained his MCL and sustained a bone bruise, but Ferguson himself stated that he could have played through Week 1 if the Cowboys hadn't already blown out the Browns.
Ferguson injured his knee late in the third quarter as he fell awkwardly on a grab and was tackled by the Browns' Jordan Hicks. On Tuesday, he practiced alongside the team's training staff.
He could return to the field without missing any time, and coach Mike McCarthy stated that this was his goal.
"Yes. "Good news," McCarthy remarked after MRIs revealed minor injury to the knee. "He will be training with the return-to-play group on Wednesday, so we'll see how things go. He's as positive as you'd expect.
Still, tight end is a position that is rather plentiful in the NFL, and if the Cowboys had concerns about Ferguson's recovery, they could easily acquire one from another team with a low-cost trade. Bleacher Report suggests this in an article titled "2024 NFL Trade Block Big Board Entering Week 2."
In it, expert Kristopher Knox observed that Raiders third-stringer Harrison Bryant is a dependable NFL veteran — he was an effective backup for four years in Cleveland
who could provide the Cowboys with short-term relief if Ferguson is unable to return and a long-term option even if he does.He wrote: "According to ESPN's Todd Archer, the Cowboys' tight end Jake Ferguson has a bone bruise and a slight MCL strain.