Dallas

Cowboys

Pickens has been limited in each of the Cowboys’ first two practices to start the week, which would seem to be a good sign for his Week 9 availability. We’ll get a better sense of where things stand when the Cowboys release their final injury report on Friday and give Pickens a designation heading into the weekend, but Schottenheimer’s optimism is a good sign. Owner Jerry Jones advocated for Pickens getting the ball more this week after Week 8’s loss to the Cardinals, so if he is active, the star receiver could be primed for a bit of a squeaky wheel game in a plus matchup against the Colts.

This makes two straight missed practices for Ferguson because of his ankle injury suffered in Week 8 versus the Cardinals. At this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to play in Week 9 against the Colts, and there are better fantasy options even if he were to be able to go.

Pickens was also limited during Wednesday’s session. The 25-year-old still seems to be on target to play in Week 9 against the Colts, but fantasy managers would obviously like to see Pickens get in a full session before that contest.

The Cowboys’ rookie safety and slot defensive back is very banged up. He is firmly on the wrong side of questionable for Week 9 against the Colts at this time.

The Cowboys’ No. 1 tight end suffered an ankle injury in Week 8 against the Cardinals. Ferguson is not in the TE1 ranks even when he is healthy, but his absence could help others earn a couple of extra targets.

On the plus side, Pickens is no longer listed with a shoulder injury. Hopefully, Pickens upgrades to full participation tomorrow, and puts this hamstring strain behind him. Team owner Jerry Jones told reporters earlier this week that Pickens needs to get the ball more. The squeaky wheel often gets greased. The Cowboys’ Week 9 game against the Colts looks like a solid bounce-back spot.

Rapoport added that “as of right now, there’s nothing there,” as far as a potential trade is concerned. Pickens, who is playing out the season on the franchise tag, hasn’t produced at the level he did in 2025 when he broke out for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, but he remains a focal point in the offense despite his underwhelming production. Pickens still ranks 14th in the league among all receivers in targets and is 12th in total air yards. Despite the Cowboys’ disappointing 3-5 record, they remain in the race to win what has been an underwhelming NFC East. With team owner Jerry Jones saying earlier that Pickens needs to be targeted more, it’s safe to assume he will remain with the Cowboys for the season.

Jones apparently isn’t happy with Pickens’ usage through Week 8. Pickens has been targeted on 22 percent of his pass routes on the season, well below CeeDee Lamb’s 34 percent rate. He’s accounted for 31 percent of the team’s air yards, nearly the same rate he saw in 2025. In the Cowboys’ humiliating Week 8 loss to the Cardinals, Pickens had nine targets, one short of Lamb’s ten. Perhaps Jerry has not adequately studied the spreadsheets. Either way, Pickens remains an upside WR2 headed into Week 9.

With Jake Ferguson (ankle) felled early, Spann-Ford played 65-of-74 snaps for the Cowboys and was second on the team in targets as Dallas tried to find a solution for the blitz. Spann-Ford would likely factor into the TE2 ranks next week if Ferguson were unable to play.

He added a DPI at the two-yard line to set up another score, and dropped another pass in the red zone. It’s clear that he’s cutting into George Pickens’ production at this point; Flournoy has gone over 90 yards or scored in three of his last four starts. He’ll be a reasonable FLEX play next week against the Colts, although the Cowboys may abandon the pass at some point in that one.