FRISCO, Texas – Good news and bad news are sometimes closely linked, and that’s what the Dallas Cowboys will have to deal with as they move from their win over the New York Giants in Week 4 to their battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, where they might winless DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons, or both, due to injury.

The two edge rushers left the Giants game with foot and ankle injuries and underwent MRI scans to determine the extent of the damage.

The good news: Micah Parsons was able to avoid the worst-case scenario despite having to be carted off the field.

“I think Micah is doing well week to week,” Executive Vice President and Director of Player Personnel Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday. “Every player reacts differently to their body, so Micah is doing well week to week . By the way, we didn’t exclude him this week.”

“We’ll just see how it goes.”

All in all, this is excellent news for the three-time All-Pro linebacker, who has at least some chance of playing against the Steelers after the random mini-bye week, and even if he doesn’t, his chances certainly do could estimate The fight against the Detroit Lions is increasing, the actual bye week then follows before there is (another) important fight with the San Francisco 49ers.

The bad news: Things don’t look nearly as promising for DeMarcus Lawrence.

“(DeMarcus Lawrence) is probably a little longer considering how long it’s going to take him,” Jones explained. “But all of these things are going to be situations that – if we get a handle on them in the next few days – we’ll see where they go.

When head coach Mike McCarthy spoke about Lawrence via conference call, he didn’t sound exactly optimistic about the four-time Pro Bowler’s prognosis either.

“Both Micah and DeMarcus seek second opinions,” McCarthy said. “I think these injuries are specific to each individual guy and (Lawrence) is worse than Micah’s. I don’t have an exact timeline, but we’ll go into it a little deeper on Monday. I know there will be second opinions” on these two guys.

He added that both injuries were “worse than expected,” although it’s unclear what the baseline would be by that standard, but it sounds like the Cowboys were initially hoping that perhaps neither would miss time , as they are 10 calendar days before their next game.

If so, the situation is actually worse than expected, although not as season-altering as it could have been; and McCarthy indicated that neither will be out this season.

However, it’s a defense that lost Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders in free agency and then lost Sam Williams to a torn ACL early in training camp by using a 2024 second-round pick on Marshawn Kneeland It quickly turned into the perfect timing for such a choice, and after rotating through the likes of Al-Quadin Muhammed and Shaka Toney in defense, the signing of Carl Lawson provides some insurance for depth.

Lawson was called up from the team’s practice squad for the second time against the Giants, and his defensive reps were increased from just eight in the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens to nearly triple (22) in Week 4 – a trend that is likely to continue also continue in the Steel City.

Phil Hoskins is also an option on the practice squad, as would he move Chauncey Golston back to defense for backup, but if this proves to be a persistent issue and given their behavior in training camp regarding free agency, more could be possible Help will be possible on the way.

It just doesn’t seem like defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is interested in a wait-and-see approach to his defense, much less his defensive front (e.g. signing Linval Joseph, trading Jordan Phillips, poaching Carlos Watkins).

Both Zimmer and McCarthy have been playing in this league for decades and they understand that adapting is key as players get into trouble and others have to step in.

“It’s part of the game,” McCarthy said. “It’s just a matter of when.”