The roster gymnastics have begun for the Dallas Cowboys. Monday afternoon brought the news that rookie running back Phil Mafah was going to begin the season on injured reserve. A reminder that players who do so must miss at least four games before being eligible to return.
Tuesday morning had more news related to injured reserve as ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that both Payton Turner (broken ribs, apparently) and Jonathan Mingo (who has had a knee injury since the second preseason game) are also going
to begin the season on injured reserve.
The thing about this news is that the math isn’t quite checking out, a point that Todd made reference to in his second post. NFL teams are now allowed to place two players on injured reserve before the finalization of their initial 53-man rosters and have them each carry eligibility to return during the season (after missing at least four games as noted). There are four reported names (Mafah, Turner, Mingo and Caelen Carson who Archer also mentioned) who could serve as options. This requires some work.
Say the Cowboys place Turner and Mingo on injured reserve before their 53 is set. This means that they must carry both Mafah and Carson on their initial 53-man roster and then place them on injured reserve so that they can hold the same eligibility to return. It seems as if this could be the direction that things are going.
This is all a part of orchestrating the roster in a way that allows the Cowboys the most options which is something that sometimes leads to confusion. Remember that the official group will be finalized at 4pm ET today and we will have it for you, including with appropriate questions and points to what could be happening with it all.
