At this point, it would be a surprise if Michael Gallup played Week 1.
However, Jerry Jones doesn’t want to confirm that for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until he absolutely needs to.
Gallup has been making good progress in his rehab from an ACL tear sustained in the Cowboys’ Week 17 game against last season. The wideout has not sounded particularly optimistic that he’d play Week 1, but Jones raised antennas last week when he said if Week 1 were the Super Bowl, Gallup could play -- a comment he clarified later in the week.
The Cowboys’ Week 1 matchup against the Bucs is a big one, but most certainly not the Super Bowl. Citing competitive advantage, Jones on Tuesday told “Shan and RJ” he’s not going to divulge Gallup’s status.
"Again, I don’t want to at this time. Let’s just leave it at that," Jones said. "I don’t need to say anymore, get into this business of playing the game of competition and not let the Bucs get prepared for him one way or the other. But we planned all along for him not to be in the game."
There soon will be some level of clarity around Gallup, as the Cowboys will have to start releasing injury reports later in the week.
Regardless of what that says, there is optimism around the progress he’s making.
“Well again, I couldn’t be more pleased at how he’s pleased with his status, and how his coaches are pleased with his status,” Jones said. “He’s just doing really the kind of things you'd expect him to do more than we’d expected him to do. If he could do everything the way he does it in practice in a game and not have injury because he hasn’t been doing it enough, then he’d be ready to go cause he can do anything I think you’d ask him to do right now. Anything.
“So, the issue is more of a common sense one, is the longer you wait the better off you are for having something reoccur or he’s trying to adjust for a sensitive aspect of this injury and cause another injury? Those are the kind of things that you use your judgment and the great experience that we have with our training crew.”
Since he’s not beginning the season on PUP, which would require him to miss four games, it seems likely Gallup will be back at some point by their Week 3 game against the Giants.
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