Going into the game against the Washington Commanders, Trey Lance’s contributions to the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season have been going the entire 2023 season as the third quarterback, inactive on game days, and serving the same role until earlier this month, when Dak Prescott injured his hamstring.
In the last two games Lance has been active, he’s completed four passes for 21 yards and thrown an interception. His defining moment thus far as a Cowboy has been throwing five interceptions in the 2024 preseason finale. He still has a chance to get in some games the rest of this season but will be an unrestricted free agent in the spring.
It’s a rough summary for a guy the Cowboys gave up a fourth-round pick for last season.
“We’d do that again,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Friday on The Fan. “I mean, he’s a top-tier pick, a guy we had at the top. As you know, Dak was coming up for contract. We wanted to take a look at a good, young talent and didn’t feel like we could get anything, from a quality standpoint, like we could get with Trey. As it turns out, we ended up signing Dak long-term. Obviously, that puts a little less need, in terms of having to rush to do something with Trey. As a matter of fact, it makes it hard because Trey I’m sure is wanting to see what’s out there now that we have committed to Dak long-term, but I don’t regret that at all.”
On its own, giving up a fourth-round pick for a reclamation project quarterback who was such a mystery because of his inexperience and lack of playing time wouldn’t be the worst thing. However, it’s the other circumstances — Lance’s free agency lining up with Prescott’s before the new contract, the lack of guarantee for Lance to get on the field and the Cowboys’ intention to get Prescott under contract — that make this such a head-scratcher, at least for many people on the outside. That’s apparently not the case in the Cowboys’ front office.
Zack Martin is a seven-time first-team All-Pro player since coming into the NFL with the Cowboys in 2014. (Andrew Dieb / Imagn Images)
Zack Martin’s time winding down?
There is perhaps no greater example of emptying the tank than Zack Martin this season. The future Hall of Fame right guard has given the Cowboys everything he has, from leadership to his performance on the field.
Martin’s play hasn’t been at the level fans have grown accustomed to seeing since he was drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft. Time is a large contributor to that — Martin turned 34 on Wednesday. Martin’s comments (and demeanor) when asked in training camp about his playing future beyond this season was a pretty big hint that this was the last hurrah, even though he never outright said it. When he was asked about it again last week — in light of Micah Parsons’ saying how much he wanted to win for a veteran like Martin — Martin reinforced the sentiment from training camp.
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“Just taking it one week at a time, my guy,” Martin said.
If time to this point was enough of a reason to make Martin feel like this was going to be it, this season hasn’t helped. Losing can be demoralizing, but Martin has been beaten up pretty badly physically, too. He’s appeared on the injury report with shoulder and ankle injuries. Both of his ankles are in rough shape. He’s been unable to practice consistently either because of the pain or the Cowboys’ placing him on a precautionary rest schedule (similar to what they previously did with Tyron Smith).
“Right now, between the two ankles and the shoulder, he could miss this game and could miss our Thanksgiving game, as well,” Jones said in his Friday interview on 105.3 The Fan. “That would give him some time to get well, but we’ll take this one game at a time.”
Martin hasn’t missed a game this season, but he’s officially out Sunday against the Commanders. Expect to see T.J. Bass start in his place.
Injury report
Unlike on his full days of practice last month, DaRon Bland’s left foot reacted well to the workload this week, and he is expected to play. However, the difficulty of getting Bland, Trevon Diggs and Jourdan Lewis on the field together continues. Diggs has been ruled out with a groin/knee issue. Marshawn Kneeland was moved from injured reserve to the active roster, so he’s on track to make his first appearance since his Week 5 injury.
On the other side of the ball, Chuma Edoga is back to provide offensive line depth. Brandin Cooks’ return will wait at least another game. He was not activated from IR.
Club life
A video surfaced early last week of CeeDee Lamb and Diggs at a club, recording some type of music video as they mouthed words to a song. The word on social media is that the video was taken hours after the Cowboys lost their fifth consecutive game, 34-10 to the Houston Texans on “Monday Night Football.”
— Dallas Riff Raff (@DallasRiffRaff) November 19, 2024
The two-second clip has caused debate about whether players should be hanging out at a club after another decisive loss. Jones said he wasn’t concerned when asked about it Friday on The Fan.
“No, I mean, they’re going to work each and every week to make plays in the field,” Jones said. “We obviously got to continue to do better. But no, that doesn’t concern me.”
Neither player was available to reporters during the week in the locker room. Diggs is out for the game Sunday because of knee and groin injuries. Lamb (back, foot) was limited early in the week but is expected to play against the Commanders.
Social media star
If you think Cowboys defensive end/linebacker Micah Parsons needs to spend less time podcasting and on social media, you might want to stop reading now. He’s not interested in giving up either one.
Parsons made that clear Thursday when a reporter asked whether he thought about taking a break from social media as NBA superstar LeBron James has recently done. Parsons quickly pointed out that James has been on social media during a large portion of his 20-year career.
“I’ve been in the league for four years,” Parsons added. “Now I need to get off social media? Four championships later, LeBron was on social media when he won an NBA title. What are we saying here? LeBron also tweeted six months ago that his son was better than NBA players. Did you say he was on Twitter then? You know what I’m saying? We can’t play that type of game.”
In regard to his weekly podcast, Parsons pointed to other NFL players’ also having a podcast, such as the Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
“Why doesn’t anybody talk about his podcast?” Parsons said. “There’s a bunch of people doing podcasts. Don’t bring that up about Micah Parsons’ podcast. … That’s why you get paid the big bucks. I don’t know everyone’s contract, but I get paid pretty well.”
NFC East standings
| TEAM | W-L | PCT. | PF | PA | DIFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8-2 |
.800 |
259 |
179 |
80 |
|
|
7-4 |
.636 |
308 |
243 |
65 |
|
|
3-7 |
.300 |
187 |
293 |
-106 |
|
|
2-8 |
.200 |
156 |
222 |
-66 |
Predictions
Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer: The Commanders have lost two consecutive games, but it’s hard to see them not getting back on track against the Cowboys. At least the game isn’t at AT&T Stadium, which at least gives the Cowboys a chance to win. But the Commanders are too talented and do a superb job of taking care of the ball. Without winning the turnover battle, the Cowboys’ winning seems impossible. Commanders 27, Cowboys 13
Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer: The Cowboys just can’t catch a break. Cornerback DaRon Bland (foot) is on track to make his season debut. Cornerback Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) has been ruled out. The two standout corners have not played a game together since Week 2 of last season. Dallas has been better on the road this year, but there’s no reason to think this one will be all that close. I’ll go with the same score as Monday night. Commanders 34, Cowboys 10
Ben Standig, Commanders beat writer: This is a fork-in-the-road game for Washington. Facing its reeling archrival as a 10-point favorite in Week 12 is not only a reflection of the Cowboys’ struggles but also how good Jayden Daniels and the high-scoring offense has looked most of this year. The rub is what if they look closer to mortal Sunday, let alone lose a third consecutive game? The energetic, tight-knit group has walloped teams with similar profiles. Running often with Brian Robinson, getting Daniels in rhythm and pressuring Cooper Rush should lead to another one-sided win. Rivalry games are weird, however, and even a tight victory might increase chatter about whether Washington is losing its way. Good thing Robinson’s two touchdowns propel Washington to a win. Commanders 31, Cowboys 17
(Top photo of Trey Lance: Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
