Todd Archer on DMN blog

The Cowboys placed left guard Kyle Kosier on injured reserve Saturday and signed linebacker Steve Octavien off Washington's practice squad to fill Kosier's roster spot.

Kosier is likely to have surgery this week in Charlotte, N.C., on his right foot. He played in only three games this season - all wins - after suffering a ligament injury and hairline fracture in his foot in the preseason against Houston.

[...]

Octavien, a 6-0, 238-pound rookie, went to training camp with Kansas City before joining the Redskins' practice squad on Nov. 20. He played at Nebraska and had 92 tackles, two sacks, 15 tackles for loss and three pass deflections as a senior.

Here's some more info from Octavien's NFL.com profile:

After showing tremendous promise as a freshman at William Rainey Harper College in 2003, Octavien spent almost as much time in the trainer's room as he did on the football field with a litany of injuries the next three seasons.

 

He finally was able to return to full health as a senior, showing good power and versatility, as he started eight games -- three at strong-side linebacker and three more on the weak side.

[...]

Rated the fourth-best junior college linebacker in the country by College Football News, he had his 2004 season cut short after four games due to a shoulder injury. In addition to his football talents, Octavien was a track standout for Harper College. He ran the second leg on the school's 2004 national champion 400-meter relay team and won the Division III junior college discus title with a throw of 164-7.

 

In 2005, Octavien transferred to Nebraska and immediately earned a starting job. But, in the first quarter of the season opener vs. Maine, he suffered a broken leg and was lost for the rest of the season, finishing with four tackles and two stops for losses. He also had surgery to repair shoulder issues.

 

As a junior, more leg problems, along with hamstring issues limited Octavien to nine games of reserve action. He posted 32 tackles (21 solo) with a sack and four stops behind the line of scrimmage. Finally over his injury woes, he was named honorable mention All-Big Twelve Conference in 2007, producing a career-high 92 tackles (56 solos) while starting eight of 12 games. He added two sacks and 15 stops for losses, as he also generated nine quarterback pressures and broke up three passes.

 

Career Notes

Octavien started 10-of-22 games during his three seasons at Nebraska, recording 128 tackles (80 solos) with three sacks for minus-10 yards, 21 stops for losses of 64 yards and eleven quarterback pressures...Caused one fumble and deflected five passes.

 

Tim MacMahon at DNM blog

The MRIs on the Cowboys' pair of Pro Bowlers injured in yesterday's win over the Seahawks didn't reveal any surprises.

OLB DeMarcus Ware didn't sustain any structural damage to his left knee. He hyperextended the knee and suffered a bone bruise, but he expects to play a week from Sunday in Pittsburgh.

RB Marion Barber has a dislocated pinkie toe on his right foot. There is no fracture.

They're both considered day-to-day at this point, which means we'll have daily updates on whether they practice, how much they practice, etc. all next week. They'll spend a lot of their weekend at Valley Ranch getting treatment.

What a big relief. I don't fully trust initial team diagnoses or player self-diagnoses, but after the feeling in the pit of my stomach watching Ware go down yesterday, this is a big relief for both players, and we may have missed a couple bullets. Pray for quick healing and both of them back to lay a hurtin' on Pittsburg.