The CeeDee Lamb injury “scare” underscores how fragile depth is for Dallas Cowboys at wide receiver

The Dallas Cowboys theme of the week seems to be depth, specifically how they don’t have a ton of it in certain areas. We have had a few different conversations over the last few days surrounding how ill-prepared the Cowboys seem to be at tackle and a similar sort of chat about the backup quarterback position (kicker has survived for at least the latest news cycle).

It is not breaking news by any means to suggest that this team could use help in the wide receiver department. Over the course of the last few months they have traded away Amari Cooper, signed James Washington, drafted Jalen Tolbert, and lost James Washington for some time (to be fair they also re-signed Michael Gallup in that stretch). Making an argument that they are not worse “on paper” right now than they were this time last year is a difficult thing.

On Wednesday there was a brief 10-or-so-minute window where it seemed like things were even more dire for the Cowboys at receiver but thankfully they are not. Ultimately they should look to that tiny point in time as a lesson they can learn without having to actually pay for.

The CeeDee Lamb injury “scare” underscores how fragile depth is for the Cowboys at wide receiver

When the Cowboys began their joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday, it was noted that wide receiver CeeDee Lamb would not be participating with what was described as a foot injury. The alarm bells were about to go off.

Thankfully this is not actually a thing and it was later revealed that Lamb has a cut on his foot which is why the Cowboys held him out (although that does sound painful and inconvenient). They also mentioned that he would not be practicing on Thursday against L.A. either.

Had this, in fact, been a real injury while we are still only beginning the second half of August, the Cowboys’ starting wide receiver trio would likely have been Noah Brown, Simi Fehoko, and Jalen Tolbert. This is noy a wise way to operate.

It is true that Lamb is fine, just as it is true that at some point Michael Gallup will be back and so will James Washington, but is this not evidence that they can all be gone?

Even if the Cowboys play a majority of games with Lamb, Gallup, and Washington all available, an argument can be made that they are still lacking in firepower. While Lamb has had about as promising of a camp period as we could have all hoped, the Cowboys are still going to be asking Gallup to show up during the season without a training camp and coming off of an injury and contribute. On top of that, they will be asking Washington to help the team with almost no actual experience in the offense or with Dak Prescott.

These are difficult checks to cash and the frustrating thing is that there are other methods of payment available. The Cowboys could very easily bring in a veteran receiver (we have listed many that are still available) to help them in the event that things turn south.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The lesson can still be learned. Hopefully it is.