Marquez Valdes-Scantling missed Dallas Cowboys practice Thursday while the team took a look at his knee, a late-week absence that comes just two days before the preseason opener at Seattle.
Brian Schottenheimer downplayed the concern, saying there was “really nothing to report” from the previous day and that the only change was that MVS would miss practice while coaches and trainers examined the knee. He added that the team was “not overly concerned about” it.
The timing matters because Valdes-Scantling is trying to carve out a role in a receiver group led by CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, with KaVontae Turpin and Ryan Flournoy also back and Jonathan Mingo, Traeshon Holden, Denzel Mims and rookie Anthony Smith in camp. Dallas has three preseason games left before the roster drops to 53 players on Aug. 30, and every practice rep now carries extra weight for a veteran on a one-year deal reportedly worth $1.49 million.
That makes Thursday’s absence more notable than the coach’s tone. Schottenheimer’s comments suggested the club did not see the knee as a major issue, but Valdes-Scantling was still held out, leaving his availability for Saturday unsettled. Dallas practices Friday at 1:45 p.m. CT before leaving Oxnard, and the game at Lumen Field starts at 7 p.m. CT on CBS.
For Valdes-Scantling, the immediate question is whether the knee responds well enough to get him back on the field before kickoff. The answer will shape not just Saturday’s opener, but how much runway he has left to make an impression before the final roster decision arrives.
