IRVING, Texas – Heading into this week's practice, DeMarcus Ware was dealing with a back injury that he initially suffered in 2010 but recently re-tweaked.
His quad injury that forced him to miss three games is good enough to play with, but has certainly affected his power to get off the ball. His right elbow has been bothering him really since last year and now it's the left elbow that is a problem. Ware suffered another elbow injury in Thursday's practice, forcing him to sit out Friday.
The Cowboys officially listed Ware as questionable for Sunday's game against Philadelphia, citing both his elbow and back.
But on his way to get an MRI Friday afternoon, Ware still gave a two-word response to all of the injuries that he's dealing with.
"I'm playing," Ware said with authority. "Without a doubt, I'll be out there."
Ware sounded disappointed about the news of Tony Romo's back surgery, but said he had confidence in Kyle Orton, who will start Sunday's win-or-go-home finale with the Eagles.
But from the sound of things, Ware has enough on his own plate when it comes to injuries. [embedded_ad]
Two weeks ago, he told reporters he was relatively healthy and didn't make injuries an excuse. However, it seems apparent he's anything but 100 percent. And that's eerily similar to how last season finished for Ware, who hobbled to the finish line with a knee, hamstring, neck, shoulder and elbow injuries.
This year, it's not much different. However, Ware doesn't want to play the injury-card.
"I'm going to be out there giving it my all," Ware said. "That's all you can do."
Ware is in jeopardy of not only missing his first Pro Bowl since his rookie year of 2005, but it's the last time he didn't have a double-digit sack season. And with just 6.0 sacks this year, which is third-most on the defense, Ware likely won't make it to 10. Although, his only four-sack game of his career occurred against the Eagles.
Ware does lead the team in quarterback pressures with 32, which is actually higher than his average of 28 per season. So he's still applying some pressure, but certainly not as much as we've seen from him in the past. Obviously injuries are a big factor, whether he likes to admit that or not.
