The Dallas Cowboys are without one player and their defensive coordinator as they take on the Houston Texans in Week 2 of the preseason. According to the Cowboys, defensive tackle Carlos Watkins and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn both left AT&T Stadium before kickoff due to the NFL‘s COVID-related protocols.
The Cowboys published this explanation on their official website:
“Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins will not participate in Saturday’s preseason game against the Texans. Both men left AT&T Stadium earlier Saturday out of an abundance of caution under the guidelines of the NFL’s COVID-related protocols, the Cowboys announced.
Quinn and Watkins will be reevaluated by the Cowboys’ medical staff tomorrow.
To date, the vaccination rate for the Cowboys’ player roster is 93%, while 100% of the team’s football staff is fully vaccinated.”
Dallas also added in its explanation that defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. will likely have more in-game responsibilities — which means he will probably serve as the defensive play caller. David Helman of the Cowboys’ official website mentioned that the defense’s substitution patterns looked “a little chaotic” early on in the matchup.
As for Watkins, he will not get to take part in his revenge game. The defensive tackle was signed by the Cowboys this offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Texans — who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He recorded two combined tackles in the Cowboys’ 19-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week. In 42 career games with the Texans, Watkins recorded 74 combined tackles and four sacks.
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