The Cowboys have released some more information about the health of tight end Jason Witten after Wednesday morning’s report that he’ll miss the rest of the preseason with an injury to his spleen.
Coach Jason Garrett said that Witten has a lacerated spleen, an injury that Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that he referred to as “very serious.” The plan for now is for Witten to remain idle for around the next 10 days. There’s no surgery planned and Garrett said that Witten would be evaluated after that 10-day stretch.
As a result, Witten has been ruled out of this week’s game against the Chargers as well as the third preseason game against the Rams. Any further idea about when he might be able to return to the field will have to wait until the injury has been given time to heal.
The Cowboys signed tight end Harry Flaherty on Wednesday, giving them another healthy body at a position that’s also been missing John Phillips because of an ankle injury. He’s not permitted to practice in pads during his first three days with the team, which means he won’t have a chance to take part in a full practice before the Chargers game. The team waived-injured offensive lineman Bill Nagy, who suffered a sprained left ankle early in camp after fracturing the same ankle last season.
Flaherty, who spent time with the Saints last year, is Garrett’s nephew, a fact that might explain why he was on the top of the team’s emergency tight end list.