FRISCO, TX – Good news and bad news are sometimes intertwined, and that’s what the Dallas Cowboys face as they turn the page from their Week 4 win over the New York Giants to their Week 5 battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, potentially without DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons or both due to injury.

The two edge rushers were sidelined from the game against the Giants with a foot and ankle injury, respectively, and underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the damage.

The good news: Micah Parsons avoided the worst-case scenario despite having to be carted off the field.

“I think Micah changes from week to week,” executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday. “Every player is different in the way their body reacts, so Micah is week to week. We haven’t ruled him out this week by the way.

“We’ll just see how it goes.”

All things considered, that’s fantastic news for the three-time All-Pro linebacker, who has at least some chance of suiting up against the Steelers after the coincidentally timed mini-bye week and, even if he doesn’t, his could see opportunities. of the battle against the Detroit Lions increases, after which the actual bye week arrives before (another) important battle with the San Francisco 49ers.

The bad news: Things don’t sound nearly as promising for DeMarcus Lawrence.

(DeMarcus Lawrence) is probably a little bit longer, in terms of how long it will take him,” Jones explained. “But all of these things will be situations that – as we work with them over the next few days – we’ll see where they go.”

When head coach Mike McCarthy spoke about Lawrence on a conference call, he didn’t exactly sound optimistic about the four-time Pro Bowler’s prognosis.

“Both Micah and DeMarcus get second opinions,” McCarthy said. “I think those injuries are specific to each man, and Lawrence’s is worse than Micah’s. I don’t have a specific timeline, but we’ll dig into that a little more on Monday. I know there will be second opinions on both boys.”

He added that both injuries are “worse than expected,” though it’s unclear what the baseline is for that metric, but it sounds like the Cowboys initially hoped that possibly neither would miss time with 10 calendar days sooner. their next match.

If so, things are indeed worse than expected, but also not as drastic as they could have been; and McCarthy stated that neither will be out this season.

That said, it’s a defense that lost Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders in free agency and then Sam Williams to a torn ACL early in training camp, using a second-round pick 2024 on Marshawn Kneeland It quickly turned into perfect timing for such a pick, and after cycling through the likes of Al-Quadin Muhammed and Shaka Toney on defense, signing Carl Lawson for depth offers some certainty.

Lawson was elevated from the team’s practice squad for a second time against the Giants, and his defensive reps were increased from just eight in the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens to nearly three times that number (22) in Week 4 – a trend that will probably continue into the Steel City.

Phil Hoskins is also a practice squad option, as Chauncey Golston would be brought back to the defensive end for help, but if it proves to be an issue that lingers, and given their behavior in training camp regarding free agency, it could there could be more help. are on the way.

It just doesn’t seem like defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is interested in taking a wait-and-see approach on his defense, especially on his defensive front (e.g. the signing of Linval Joseph, the Jordan Phillips trade, the poaching of Carlos Watkins). .

Both Zimmer and McCarthy have been in this league for decades and they understand that adjustment is the name of the game as players get beat up and others have to step in.

“It’s part of the game,” McCarthy said. “It’s just a matter of when.”