Cowboys Safety Xavier Woods to Miss Significant Time in Big Blow to Dallas Secondary
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys might be 2-0 and and sitting atop the NFC East, but the injury news they've received in the last 24 hours will have fans in Big D feeling anything but confident.
Shortly after emerging star wideout Michael Gallup went on the shelf with a meniscus injury, NFL insider Tom Pelissero has just revealed that starting safety Xavier Woods is expected to miss roughly a month of time with a high ankle sprain.
#Cowboys FS Xavier Woods is expected to miss four to six weeks with a high ankle sprain, source said. A blow to the secondary with #Saints, #Packers among upcoming opponents.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 17, 2019
Big things were expected from Woods in his third year out of Louisiana Tech, and the 24-year-old has not disappointed. In Week 1's win over the Giants, he recorded a a team- and career-high 11 tackles, nine of which were solo, and even forced a fumble on Saquon Barkley.
Woods followed that up with a six-tackle showing against the Redskins on Sunday. More importantly, he looked significantly confident in pass coverage, in both man and zone packages.
Free safety Xavier Woods suffered a high ankle injury Sunday at Washington and is availability for this week’s game against Miami is in doubt, according to sources. He was hurt on the final series. If Woods can’t play, then Darian Thompson could move... https://t.co/PbvHN4edex
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 17, 2019
Darian Thompson could be forced into the starting lineup in place of Woods, and Cowboys buffs can expect rookie S Donovan Wilson to be active for the first time in 2019.
Make no mistake about it, this injury is a brutal blow to Dallas' secondary, but at least their depth will be tested in the meantime and make the unit even stronger.