Cowboys vs Jets inactives: Tyler Smith, Brandin Cooks out

The Cowboys are a little over an hour away from their first home game of the new year, hosting the Jets and doing so as the heavy favorites after the season-ending injury to Aaron Rodgers. While much of the narrative this week has focused on Rodgers, the Cowboys are dealing with some injuries of their own, and some of those players won’t suit up today as a result:

Tyler Smith missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury and he’s now set to do so again this week. That means Chuma Edoga will once again get the start at left guard after performing admirably last week. It’ll mean a bit more for Edoga, though, as the Jets were the team to draft him back in 2019 and, ultimately, cut him during the 2022 preseason.

Joining Smith on the inactives list is Brandin Cooks, who made his Cowboys debut last week but found his way onto the injury report this week with an MCL sprain. Cooks did not practice all week but was still considered a game-time decision. However, he won’t be suiting up today. Neither will Donovan Wilson, who missed last week’s game with a calf injury he sustained at the start of training camp.

Also inactive are rookies Viliami Fehoko and Eric Scott Jr., as well as Noah Igbinoghene. As was the case last week, Trey Lance is inactive but designated as the emergency quarterback per the NFL’s new rule.

For the Jets, the biggest inactive is kicker Greg Zuerlein, who appeared on the injury report late in the week. That caused the Jets to sign free agent kicker Austin Seibert on Saturday, giving him minimal time to get acquainted with the rest of this special teams group. The Jets’ two starting tackles, Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown, were both questionable for this game but are active and expected to play.