Sixteen Names Deep: Porter Sits, Pickens Limited and Three Already Ruled Out as the Cowboys Open 49ers Week

By Jake "Star" Whitfield, RF Sports Radio Cowboys voice

Cowboys Nation, the trade deadline is behind us, and the first injury report of 49ers week tells you why standing pat felt risky. Sixteen names. Eight guys who did not practice. And the two players this team most needs on Sunday, George Pickens and Joey Porter Jr., are still not all the way back.

The facts

Per the team's official Week 10 injury report, eight Cowboys did not practice Wednesday: Donovan Ezeiruaku (ankle), Jake Ferguson (knee/ankle), Tyler Goodson (ankle/knee), Malik Hooker (personal), P.J. Locke (concussion), Von Miller (rest), Jonathan Mingo (ankle) and Porter (ankle). Pickens (hamstring), DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring/back) and KaVontae Turpin (ribs) were limited.

Per The Dallas Morning News via Yahoo Sports, Ferguson, Goodson and Locke have already been ruled out for Sunday, and Porter has now missed two games since the trade, one with the flu and last week's win over the Colts with the ankle. "The most important thing is trying to find a way to make sure we get them on the field," Brian Schottenheimer said. Turpin, who has missed three games, got limited work, and rookie cornerback Devin Moore had his 21-day window opened and practiced fully.

Cowboys On SI notes Pickens was limited all last week before he was inactive, so a full session Thursday or Friday is the thing to watch. The Landry Hat reports Porter had a helmet on but watched the individual drills, and that Goodson's injury is a sprained MCL and ACL, per ESPN's Todd Archer. Kendre Miller, signed to the practice squad Wednesday, was on the field. With Ferguson out, James Mitchell has been called up from the practice squad the last two weeks, and Schottenheimer said he has "been incredible."

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: the Porter news is the one that worries me most. Pickens limited is the same story as last week, and I expect him to play. But Porter going from limited on Friday last week to a DNP on Wednesday this week is the wrong direction, and the 49ers just added Keenan Allen. If Porter sits, Cobie Durant starts, per On SI, and San Francisco will go find whoever is covering the slot.

Locke out hurts more than people think. That pushes Markquese Bell or Alijah Clark into a bigger role, and The Landry Hat makes a good point that it limits how the staff can move Caleb Downs around.

And do not sleep on the Ezeiruaku ankle. With Malachi Lawrence on IR, the edge rotation is thin, and we just said the edge rush was the one need nobody fixed at the deadline.

Prediction stays the same: 49ers 27, Cowboys 23, unless Porter practices Friday.

What to watch next

Thursday's report is the big one: watch whether Pickens and Porter move to full, whether Ezeiruaku practices at all, and whether Miller gets a game-day elevation. Kickoff vs. San Francisco is Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. For how the deadline played out, read our Nov. 11 look at the quiet deadline, and follow every update on our Dallas Cowboys page.

Radio question: if you can only get one back for Sunday, do you want Pickens or Porter?

Sources: Dallas Cowboys - Official Week 10 injury report; The Dallas Morning News via Yahoo Sports - Cowboys' lengthy injured list before 49ers game; Cowboys On SI - Pickens update and Wednesday practice report; The Landry Hat - Pickens returns, latest on Porter, Thompson and Overshown; FOX 4 - Cowboys don't make any moves as trade deadline passes.