The Dallas Cowboys are in a bad way at the safety position. Injuries have taken their toll on one of their deepest positions and now the Cowboys go into a Week 4 matchup with their merry team of practice squaders, special teams subs, and street free agents set to protect the back end.
Free agent veteran additions Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke have already been ruled out, making Markquese Bell, Caleb Downs and Alijah Clark the favorites to start. As evidenced by last week’s play, that’s not ideal for anyone.
Hope remains that a key reinforcement might be on the way. Malik Hooker, injured on the 12th snap in Week 1, hopes to return this week. Whether that’s possible or not remains to be seen and will likely be a last second decision, but the need
for him is as significant as it is undeniable.
The Cowboys came into the 2026 season with more box safeties than deep safeties. Aside from Thompson and Hooker, Dallas’ stable of safeties were better performers inside the box than deep. Even Downs, their all-world rookie, is at his best closer to the line of scrimmage. He can play deep but most of his game-changing plays come from inside the box.
Jalen Thompson (hamstring) could potentially miss 4-6 weeks.
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) September 28, 2026
- Stephen Jones tells 105.3 the Fa
brutal.
PJ Locke is on IR, hope is Malik Hooker could return this Sunday for #Cowboys vs Texans.
Bell, a special teams standout, is a growing liability the farther he moves back. He’s been forced to play deep far too often the last two weeks and the results show. Hooker’s return would alleviate that issue. Clark, another special teams ace, is the ultimate emergency fill in. With only 60 career snaps on defense, his experience is limited to say the least.
Dallas Cowboys injury updates:
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 30, 2026
– Safety Jalen Thompson (hamstring) will likely go on injured reserve, meaning out at least the next four games.
– Safety P.J. Locke (foot) was placed on injured reserve last week.
– Defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (calf) probably out a few…
Juanyeh Thomas, a former Cowboy, was signed this week to help the cause. The fact he was unsigned in the first place is probably all anyone needs to know about him taking meaningful snaps this week.
But if Hooker can come back in Week 4 against the Houston Texans, everything falls back into place. Hooker takes a deep safety role allowing Downs to move up, taking slot cornerback duties. Bell would theoretically play more in the box and against tight ends, while Clark would split occasional backend duties opposite Hooker.
Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) is trending toward returning for Sunday’s game vs. Houston, per HC Brian Schottenheimer. S Malik Hooker (forearm) “may need another week.”
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) September 29, 2026
A defense without Thompson and Locke isn’t ideal but if Hooker is on the field, at least it’s survivable. If Hooker can’t make it back it may have to be Downs as a fulltime deep safety. That’s not a bad thing until you consider the opportunity costs of moving him out of the box and away from a slot cornerback role.
The Cowboys might be getting DeMarvion Overshown back this week – which is great – but they really need Hooker to return because the situation at safety is more than a little concerning.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: $5M safety would help Cowboys considerably in Week 4
