PHILADELPHIA – The Cowboys' game day inactives are more of a formality for this week, given that the team ruled six players out on Friday – but they are now official.
The team released its seven inactives ahead of Sunday night's game against the Eagles. Third-string quarterback Mike White will join Tavon Austin, Taco Charlton, David Irving, Sean Lee, Joe Thomas and Connor Williams on that list.
This is as many major injuries as the Cowboys have had to deal with during the 2018 season. Charlton, Lee and Williams all sustained injuries during last week's loss to Tennessee, while Austin and Thomas are still recovering from previous injuries. Irving injured his ankle in practice during the week leading up to the Titans game and will miss his second-straight week.
With Williams missing the first game of his career, it sounds like veteran guard Xavier Su'a-Filo will be the beneficiary. The Cowboys held a competition for the left guard spot between Su'a-Filo and Adam Redmond, and team executive vice president Stephen Jones said Friday that he thought Su'a-Filo would be the starter on Friday night.
Injuries will create other opportunities, as well. With Charlton out injured, it's a reasonable guess that Tyrone Crawford will see more snaps at defensive end – which should once again allow more playing time for both Daniel Ross and Caraun Reid. In addition, Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith figure to play plenty of snaps without either Lee or Thomas to rotate into the mix.
The receiver corps also saw a shakeup heading into this game. It's a good guess that the Cowboys continue to roll with a primary trio of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Cole Beasley, but they also added Noah Brown and Lance Lenoir to the active roster on Friday. With Austin still recuperating, it will be interesting to see if they can find a role for either young player.
