The Dallas Cowboys have placed safety Malik Hooker on injured reserve ahead of their week 5 showdown vs. the New York Jets.
Hooker sustained a left toe injury during his team’s contest against the Green Bay Packers, and will now miss at least the next 4 games. The 29 year old has amassed 20 total tackles (12 solo, 8 ast) on the season, and will leave a sizeable void in an already leaky Cowboys secondary.
The former 1st round pick’s absence isn’t unexpected, as head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters early this week that Hooker appeared to be out for “a couple weeks”. That being said, most assumed that the injury would be a week-to-week situation, but evidently additional testing suggested a lengthier absence from the lineup.
In a corresponding move, Dallas has signed safety Alijah Clark to the active roster off their practice squad. The undrafted free agent out of Syracuse had some preseason buzz throughout training camp, and will now have a homecoming of sorts Sunday after playing high school football in New Jersey.
Clark will join Juanyeh Thomas, Marquese Bell, and Donovan Wilson as options for Schottenheimer as Dallas looks to climb to .500 with a victory over the winless Jets. The game kicks off at 1pm ET.
Photo: Michael Barera. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.