Dallas Cowboys Roster, Injury News 2017: Will the Cowboys Activate Rico Gathers From the IR This Season?
Will Rico Gathers play this season? That question has been asked a lot lately now that the season has reached its halfway point.
Gathers has shown flashes of brilliance during training camp, and he was impressive in the Dallas Cowboys' first two preseason games. Unfortunately, the second-year tight end suffered a concussion in practice on Aug. 15 due to an accidental helmet-to-helmet hit by safety Kavon Frazier, and he was placed on the injured reserve list in September.
The former Baylor University basketball standout is eligible to return to the field, but people have heard very little of him from the Cowboys.
Of course, the Cowboys will continue to say that he has been making good progress in his recovery, but one has to wonder if the injury is more serious than initially thought because it seems he's still not healthy enough to return to the practice field. Is he still dealing with the symptoms of concussion?
After their 28–17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked about Gathers' status and he didn't sound optimistic about the tight end's chances of returning to the active roster this season.
"Yeah, he's missed a lot of time and that's all I can say," Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News' Brandon George.
George has also noted that head coach Jason Garrett hasn't revealed much either, but he said the tight end has been working out with Cowboys strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik recently.
In any case, the Cowboys are unlikely to bring Gathers back unless he's completely healthy, and many believe that is the right thing to do.
"Gathers was shut down in August for good reason, and it's that same reasoning which could leave him on ice going forward. With Witten playing at a high level and the combination of a healthy James Hanna and Geoff Swaim, the team isn't pressed to force their hand with their young potential star," Patrik Walker said in his column for 247Sports.
