Cowboys safety P.J. Locke has been on IR with a foot injury since Sept. 26, but he could be back in action as early as Week 7. The Cowboys have designated Locke for return, giving them 21 days to activate him.
Locke spent the previous six years in Denver, where he played for then-Broncos defensive backs coach and current Cowboys D-coordinator Christian Parker from 2021-23. The two reunited when the Cowboys gave Locke a one-year, $4MM deal with $3.5MM in guaranteed money last March.
Locke was one of several offseason acquisitions the Cowboys made in response to a terrible defensive showing in 2025, but he suffered his injury early in Week 2 and has played just 31 snaps. Fellow safety Jalen Thompson, a three-year, $33MM pickup in free agency, went down with a hamstring injury in the same game and has been on IR since Sept. 30.
In addition to going without Locke and Thompson for most of the season, the Cowboys’ safety group didn’t have Malik Hooker for two games in September. Hooker underwent surgery on his wrist, though he returned to the Cowboys’ starting lineup in Week 4. Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas and first-round rookie Caleb Downs comprise the rest of the team’s healthy safety options at the moment. While the versatile Downs mostly lines up at slot corner and in the box, he has logged 92 snaps at free safety to help cover for the Cowboys’ injuries.
Thanks in part to health issues, the Cowboys’ defense hasn’t made much progress since it finished 30th in yards and dead last in both pass ‘D’ and scoring last year. The group has improved to 23rd against the pass and 25th in scoring, but it’s 30th in total yards. Regardless of whether the Cowboys get Locke back this week, they should be able to contain a struggling, banged-up Philadelphia offense that will start backup quarterback Tanner McKee on Monday night. The winner of that game will improve to 3-4 and wake up on Tuesday morning in second place in the mediocre NFC East.