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The Blue/White scrimmage on Sunday ended without any major injuries for the Cowboys. Currently, 14 players are sidelined for various reasons.
Because the league doesn't release injury reports during training camp that could serve as a frame of reference, there's no way of saying whether that number is particularly high or low.
Thankfully, Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News faithfully chronicled the Cowboys injury status in camp last year, so we know that on the day after the Blue/White scrimmage in 2012, the Cowboys had 18 players on their injury report. 18 to 14 doesn't sound like a big drop but a closer look at the injury reports from both years shows that the difference between the two years is less about the quantity of injuries and more about the severity of the injuries:
| 2012 | 2013 | |||||
| SEVERITY | POS | PLAYER | INJURY | POS | PLAYER | INJURY |
| Day-to-day | CB | Teddy Williams | Concussion | TE | James Hanna | Hamstring |
| DE | Jason Hatcher | Groin | WR | Cole Beasley | Quadriceps | |
| OLB | Anthony Spencer | Hamstring | WR | Dez Bryant | Hip/Quadriceps | |
| RB | Lance Dunbar | Hamstring | WR | Danny Coale | Knee | |
| S | Matt Johnson | Hamstring | G | Mackenzy Bernadeau | Hamstring | |
| TE | John Phillips | Ankle | G | Ron Leary | Calf | |
| DE | Marcus Spears | Concussion | LS | L.P. Ladouceur | Calf | |
| OL | Ryan Cook | Back | ||||
| DT | Ikponmwosa Igbinosun | Lower leg | ||||
| Out 1-2 weeks | WR | Danny Coale | Foot | RT | Jermey Parnell | Hamstring |
| WR | Miles Austin | Hamstring | DT | Jay Ratliff | Hamstring | |
| CB | Morris Claiborne | Knee | ||||
| G/C | Bill Nagy | Ankle | ||||
| WR | Saalim Hakim | Finger | ||||
| Out Indefinitely | RB | Phillip Tanner | Hand | DE | Anthony Spencer* | Knee |
| G | Nate Livings | Hamstring | DL | Tyrone Crawford*** | Achilles | |
| G | Mackenzy Bernadeau | Hip, Knee | ||||
| NT | Jay Ratliff | Foot | ||||
| CB | Mike Jenkins** | Shoulder | ||||
| G/C | Kevin Kowalski** | Ankle | ||||
| Other | OT | Demetress Bell | Conditioning test | |||
| * Out 2-4 weeks, ** PUP, ***Out for Season | ||||||
Couple of observations:
- Tyrone Crawford's season-ending injury is by far the biggest injury the Cowboys have suffered this year, and by this time last season, no player had had a season ending injury yet. So in that category, the 2013 is worse off.
- But as you look at the amount serious injuries (marked here in red) 2012 has a big lead over 2013. Ratliff and Jenkins missed significant playing time last year and Kowalski didn't see a single snap.
- Similarly, the amount of injuries where a player was out for one to two weeks (marked in yellow) was higher in 2012 than it is in 2013.
- When you compare the injuries where a player missed significant training camp time (red & yellow) 2012 leads 2013 by 11-4, and that is a significant improvement for 2013.
- Conversely, the amount of minor injuries with a day-to-day status (the green cells) is slightly higher in 2013 than it was in 2012.
- The Demetress Bell situation is beginning to get a little embarrassing. For comparison, Brodney Pool also failed the conditioning test last year, passed it sometime before the Blue/White scrimmage and was released on the Tuesday after the scrimmage. The Cowboys must really have high hopes for Bell to hold onto him for so long.
- Note also that Miles Austin and Matt Johnson do not show up on this year's list. At the same time, Anthony Spencer, Jay Ratliff, Mackenzy Bernadeau, and Danny Coale are missing time in camp due to injury for the second straight year, though all for different reasons than last year.
- Football is a violent sport in which injuries happen. The Cowboys were hit particularly hard last year, but overall have been fortunate so far this year.
What's your take on these numbers?