As if their deficiencies on defense weren't enough to overcome, the Dallas Cowboys have also dealt with several injuries on that side of the ball this season.
Two players who have missed games this season are linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback Cobie Durant.
Durant hasn't played since Week 2 because of a hamstring injury, and Overshown has been out even longer, with his hamstring issue keeping him out since he injured it in Week 1.
Cobie Durant, DeMarvion Overshown injury updates
However, it appears there's a chance both players are going to make it back this week, as head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed both will practice on Thursday.
"Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said DeMarvion Overshown and Cobie Durant are expected to practice today," Jon Machota of The Athletic reported.
The bigger update there is Durant, who has not practiced at all since his injury. Overshown, on the other hand, showed he was close last week after he logged two limited practices before receiving a questionable tag and ultimately being ruled out.
On the flip side, fellow linebacker Dee Winters is not going to practice with an Achilles injury. Schottenheimer has previously noted that Winters is expected to miss time.
What this means for Cowboys' defense
Durant and Overshown could provide a significant boost for the Cowboys' defense, and that's especially true for Durant.
While Joey Porter Jr. has been everything the Cowboys could have hoped for thus far, the other boundary spot is still a huge problem because DaRon Bland has been a total liability.
Durant was easily Dallas' best cornerback during the offseason and whatever snaps he can give this week will be huge. It's conceivable he'll be limited if he plays, though.
That said, we're not sure exactly how much the Cowboys are going to deploy him, even when he's fully ramped up. Durant did not play all of the snaps in Week 1 and instead gave some up to Shavon Revel.
The no-brainer move would be to cut Bland's playing time significantly or all together and give Durant those snaps.
But the Cowboys seem hellbent on keeping Bland on the field no matter how badly he plays and we know Porter is not going to be leaving the field much, assuming he's capable of playing a full amount of snaps this time around.
Cowboys fans can only hope Dallas will no longer be married to the idea that Bland has to play as much as he does and Durant becomes the full-time starting corner across from Porter, but we're not holding our breath for that to happen.
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