Safety Markquese Bell will undergo shoulder surgery in the near future, according to coach Mike McCarthy, who added that Bell “will be missed this year.”
Bell suffered the injury, which sources say is a dislocated left shoulder, while covering a kickoff in the second quarter Monday night against the Houston Texans when he was trying to tackle Dameon Pierce and needed help getting off the field. Speaking Tuesday, special teams coordinator John Fassel became emotional when discussing the injury.
“Yeah, that hurts,” Fassel said before a long pause. “I mean, he’s thrown as good a special teams ball in 10 games as I can remember. Man. He got hurt doing what he does best, just flying out there. He’s going to be fine but, man, just, God, spending time with these guys in meetings, on the practice field and on the playing field, the emotions of not being drafted, wanting a little more and accepting your role and thriving in your role, damn it hurts because I was in a mission.”
On November 3, the Cowboys lost quarterback Dak Prescott for the season with a hamstring injury that required surgery, and he was placed on injured reserve last week. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been on injured reserve since Week 4 due to a midfoot sprain, and cornerback DaRon Bland has not played this season after undergoing foot surgery in August.
Bland, however, could make his season debut this week against the Washington Commanders, depending on how he gets through practice. With a short week and a Thanksgiving Day matchup next week, the Cowboys won’t wear pads, but Bland might not be the only one returning.
The Cowboys opened practice windows for wide receiver Brandin Cooks and defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, both of whom have had knee injuries. Cooks hasn’t played since Sept. 26 after needing surgery to clear an infection in his knee that he developed after undergoing a procedure. Kneeland hasn’t played since Week 5 after injuring his knee against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cooks, who caught a touchdown pass in the season opener and scored eight touchdowns last season, called his knee problem a “fortuitous situation.”
“It’s definitely frustrating. That’s life, things happen, but it’s more frustrating when you see your team not winning,” Cooks said. “If you come out winning, that’s one thing, but losing like we have hurts a little more. It makes you want to come back as quickly as you can and help as much as you can.”
