The Dallas Cowboys lost star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb early in the first quarter of their blowout 31-14 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon.
Lamb took a rare handoff in the backfield early at Soldier Field and broke for the right sideline, but his left ankle was rolled up on by Noah Sewell as he was tackled. Lamb was incredibly slow getting up, and limped off the field straight to the bench.
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Lamb reportedly sustained a high ankle sprain on the play. The Cowboys did not place him on injured reserve Monday, but he is expected to miss three to four weeks recovering, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.
“I think we’ve got to evaluate the full thing and see how he’s moving around as the day goes,” Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Monday, via ESPN. “Certainly, he’s got a high ankle sprain and every one of those are different. We’d love to have him back for Green Bay but at the same time we also got to understand the injury is what it is and we’ll play it out.”
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The Cowboys also lost rookie guard Tyler Booker for four to six weeks with a high ankle sprain. Booker, who the Cowboys took in the first round of the NFL Draft earlier this spring, also went down in the loss. The Cowboys are now down Booker and center Cooper Beebe on their offensive line. Beebee is on injured reserve due to an ankle injury, too.
“That’s a setback for us,” Jerry Jones said of Booker’s injury on Monday, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. Jones also didn’t rule out an injured reserve trip for either Lamb or Booker.
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The play in question on Sunday ended up not counting due to offsetting holding penalties. Lamb remained out of the game as the Cowboys’ drive continued. A few plays later, he limped into the blue medical tent without his cleat on.
The Cowboys finished the drive with a 53-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey, which cut the Bears’ lead to four points.
The Cowboys initially said he was questionable to return with an ankle injury. He came back for the start of the second quarter, but appeared to tweak his ankle while trying to run a route on the far side of the play. He started limping immediately and then waved for help from the team’s athletic training staff as he slowly left the field.
Lamb was ruled out of the game at the start of the second half. After the contest, team owner Jerry Jones said the injury was not as serious as it could have been.
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“Let’s just keep our fingers crossed,” he said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
Lamb entered Sunday’s game with 222 yards on 16 catches this season, though he’s yet to score a touchdown.
Even though the Cowboys put up 11 points in the second quarter to overcome a slow start, the Bears still took a 24-14 lead into the break at halftime — thanks in part to a late 10-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to Cole Kmet. Williams had 239 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. The Bears then held Dallas scoreless for most of the second half to seal the blowout win. That gave them their first victory of the season.
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If Lamb only misses three weeks, he can return in time for the Cowboys’ matchup against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 19.
