FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys will be without quarterback Andy Dalton for a second straight game but not because of the concussion he sustained two weeks ago.
Dalton will be placed on the reserve/COVID 19 list on Tuesday, which will knock him out of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to multiple sources.
Dalton did not practice last week as he worked through the concussion protocol but he was in some team and quarterback meetings later in the week. He did not fly with the team to Philadelphia because he was officially ruled out the day before kickoff.
Dalton has started the self-quarantine process and the Cowboys have begun contact tracing, but no players on the trip tested positive before the Philadelphia game, and Monday’s tests were negative as well.
Rookie Ben DiNucci started in the 23-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He completed 21 of 40 passes for 180 yards, was sacked four times and lost two fumbles, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Garrett Gilbert served as the No. 2 quarterback last week, and the Cowboys added Cooper Rush to the practice last week and he has completed the COVID-19 protocols.
Dalton started two games after taking over for Dak Prescott, who is out for the season with a right ankle injury, before taking a hit from, Washington Football Team linebacker Jon Bostic in the third quarter of the 25-3 loss. Bostic was fined $12,000 by the NFL for the hit.
Dalton has completed 52 of 85 passes for 452 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in four appearances. The Cowboys have scored one touchdown in their three games without Prescott and none the last two games. It’s the first time in his head coaching career Mike McCarthy has presided over an offense that has failed to score a touchdown in consecutive games.
On Monday, McCarthy was asked about the Cowboys not having any players placed on the COVID list during the regular season. In training camp, wide receiver Jon’Vea Johnson and cornerback Saivion Smith were on the COVID list, although Smith’s test was a false-positive.
“It’s part of the team meeting messaging,” McCarthy said. “Pretty much almost every day or definitely a couple times a week there’s always feedback that our football operations is giving us as far as what the new emphasis is and how we can continue to improve on it and I think our players and staff have done a very good job, the best they can, as far as the social distancing and the tracking and all the components that go into it. So hopefully we can keep it going.”
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