The Cowboys will be welcoming Quinnen Williams to their defensive line for Monday night’s game against the Raiders, but they’re set to play without a longer-tenured member of the group.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Saturday that defensive tackle Solomon Thomas is unlikely to play. Thomas, who was also teammates with Williams on the Jets, is dealing with a calf injury.
Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson are set to make their Cowboys debuts after being acquired in trades ahead of the November 4 deadline. They’re also set to get several players back from long absences.
Schottenheimer said safety Malik Hooker (toe) is trending toward playing. Hooker is on injured reserve, so a roster move will need to be made for him to be able to play Monday. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback Shavon Revel were activated earlier this week, so there will be a different look on defense in several areas.
Safety Donovan Wilson (elbow) is also moving in the right direction to be available for the Cowboys on Monday. Wilson last played in Week 7.
Sometimes, comments on a hot-button topic come from obvious people speaking on obvious platforms — like the Commissioner at a press conference. Sometimes, they emerge unexpectedly.
This week, Cowboys chief brand officer and co-owner Charlotte Jones shared her views on the selection of Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer, while appearing on the podcast of Katie Miller (the wife of homeland security advisor Stephen Miller).
“I think it’s awesome,” Jones said. “And I think our Latina fan base is amazing. And I think when you think about the Super Bowl, you want the No. 1 performer in the world to be there. We’re on a global stage, and we can’t ever forget that. Our game goes out to everybody around the world, and to get the premier entertainer to want to be a part of our game, I think is amazing. And I think that we have a mixed culture. I mean, our whole society is based on immigrants that have come here and founded our country. And I think we can celebrate that. And I think the show’s gonna be amazing.”
Katie Miller then posed this slightly loaded follow-up question: “You don’t think at a time when his comments were divisive as it relates to President Trump, when everyone’s just seeking this political unification that you’d want somebody who maybe didn’t touch politics to be on that stage?”
“Yeah, I don’t think our game’s about politics,” Jones said. “I don’t think people tune in to look at politics. We do everything we can to avoid politics. And I think in that moment that people will be watching the game, they’ll be celebrating music, and nobody will be thinking about what’s comments on the left side, what comments on the right side, that this is about bringing people together.”
She’s right. The NFL doesn’t try to get political. Sometimes, politics is foisted upon the NFL. When that happens, the NFL often chooses not to anger the more vocal minority at one end of the spectrum at the risk of alienating the less vocal minority at the other end of the spectrum. Especially in light of the overall demographics of the NFL’s fan base.
That’s what makes the NFL’s decision to poke the bear on this one surprising, but admirable. The league knew what the reaction would be. The league knew the choice was being made at a time when the NFL is relying upon the current administration to eventually give its blessing to a deal that would give the league a 10-percent stake in ESPN.
A safer choice could have been made. One that would have angered no one. The league opted for the biggest performer it could get (especially with Taylor Swift reportedly declining to agree to the NFL’s terms).
And there’s one last point to make (beyond, for instance, raising the question of why Jones invited Katie Miller to Dallas for her podcast in the first place or making the point that Bad Bunny is not an “immigrant”). Katie Miller actually said, with a straight face, that “everyone is just seeking this political unification.”
Sorry, but that’s bullshit. On both sides. They (right and left, and left and right) want us to be divided. They strive to keep us divided. Anything and everything, on both sides, becomes the basis for algorithm-driving outrage and counter-outrage.
Unity doesn’t feed that beast. Division does. And, unfortunately, it has worked. Well. Friendships have been destroyed over it. Family relationships have been strained, if not fractured beyond repair. All because they (the politicians and the social-media moguls) have figured out that establishing and maintaining unhealthy, and un-American, division is very good for business.
Ultimately, the NFL made a business decision. Whether it was aimed at having the biggest audience during the Super Bowl halftime show or whether it was calculated to throw a shovelful of coal into the outrage and counter-outrage furnace isn’t clear.
Still, the last people who should be waving the flag of political unification are one of the engineers of the Division Express.
Raiders wide receiver Tyler Lockett (knee) was a full participant on Friday, a good sign for his availability for Monday Night Football.
Lockett was limited on Thursday.
The Raiders had every player on the practice field participating, with linebacker Cody Lindenberg (Achilles) the only limited participant. He did not practice on Thursday.
The Raiders added running back Dylan Laube (foot) to the report as a full participant.
Backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell (right wrist), offensive guard Dylan Parham (ankle) and safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (hip) remained full participants.
The Cowboys’ practice report had only one minor change from Wednesday.
Safety Alijah Clark was downgraded to out of practice on Thursday with an illness after being listed with only an injury to his ribs on Wednesday.
Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (calf) did not practice again.
Safety Malik Hooker (toe), safety Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder), offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius (knee/knee), defensive end Dante Fowler (shoulder) and left guard Tyler Smith (knee) were limited a second consecutive day.
Wilson last played in Week 7, and Clark played Weeks 5-8 before his injury. Hooker is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.
Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (knee), cornerback Shavon Revel (knee) and defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey (back) remained full participants. Winfrey is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.
The Cowboys play the Raiders on Monday Night Football.
The Cowboys practiced for the first time without Marshawn Kneeland on Thursday. The defensive end died last week from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase and a wreck with another vehicle, according to authorities.
The Cowboys, who had their bye last week, returned to The Star as a team on Monday. They have grieved as a team, with a private vigil, team meetings and individual meetings with grief counselors.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer made clear the Cowboys aren’t moving on, but they are moving forward. They began that process with their first practice of the week ahead of the Monday Night Football game against the Raiders.
“It was great,” Prescott said, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Some guys are going to get out on the field, and it’s going to hurt. Some guys are going to get out there, and it’s going to be the best medicine for them. Having dealt with loss, that is the best medicine for me. So getting back out there, handing the ball off and sprinting an extra 10 yards and making sure I’m doing it hard, Marshawn went through my mind a few times at practice today.”
The Cowboys are honoring Kneeland’s memory in several ways, including a helmet decal. But defensive tackle Solomon Thomas was among the players who said the best way they can honor their teammate is to give it everything they have on Monday night.
“He would run to the ball,” Thomas said. “No matter how tired he was, he would play with intensity and tenacity. He went out there because he loved the game. He played with love. He played every play like it was his last and didn’t take reps for granted. What I learned is he came from a small town in Michigan, and he wasn’t supposed to be here. So, he played like he wanted to be here every single day. If we do that, we’ll honor him — win, loss or draw.
“If we play like Marshawn, we’ll be a better team. We’ll come out of this better.”
