{"id":480728,"date":"2026-10-29T21:24:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T21:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/480728\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T21:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T21:24:55","slug":"dallas-cowboys-on-brink-of-getting-more-reinforcements-back-on-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/480728\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys on Brink of Getting More Reinforcements Back on Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9u\">The Dallas Cowboys were hit with major injury issues early this season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9z\">Each week following the season opener, it seemed like a starter or key rotational piece was going down with injury, and this certainly didn&#8217;t help a defense that was already having its struggles <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/onsi\/cowboys-christian-parker-business-feelings-homecoming-eagles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">under first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker.<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/onsi\/brian-schottenheimer-why-cowboys-eagles-press-conference-cut-short\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">But in Week 7&#8217;s win over the Philadelphia Eagles,<\/a> the Cowboys welcomed back linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback Cobie Durant to the lineup after multi-week absences due to respective hamstring injuries. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a9\">Now, it&#8217;s looking like the Cowboys could soon be getting back a notable member of their defensive line as the midway point of the season arrives.<\/p>\n<p>Cowboys DT Jonathan Bullard Nearing Return From Injury<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m64hkvz1cxqja8hrk8.jpg\" alt=\"Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard\" title=\"Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"aq\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (98) looks on before the game between the Cowboys and the Saints at AT&amp;T Stadium.  | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"aw\">The Cowboys announced Thursday that they have opened up the 21-day practice window for defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard, who had been on injured reserve for the past four games after suffering a calf injury in Week 3&#8217;s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. If he doesn&#8217;t return during that window,  Bullard will be placed on season-ending injured reserve.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b1\">It remains to be seen if Bullard will be ready in time for Sunday&#8217;s home game against the Arizona Cardinals, though it feels like a more realistic target date could be Week 9 at the Indianapolis Colts. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b6\">Either way, Bullard eventual return might get overlooked but it will bring some much-needed depth back to the defensive line.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bb\">During the first three games with Dallas this year, Bullard has just three total tackles and two quarterback hits but he has a decade of NFL experience that fans have yet to see on display this season.<\/p>\n<p>What Jonathan Bullard&#8217;s Potential Return Can Do for Dallas<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m64j8aab2wp37fsc5p.jpg\" alt=\"Jonathan Bullard \" title=\"Jonathan Bullard \" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"bs\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jonathan Bullard (93) during the NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.  | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"by\">Bullard&#8217;s return will allow players like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark to rotate out knowing that a veteran with over 130 games of regular-season experience is stepping in for them. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c3\">After signing with the Cowboys this offseason following one year with the New Orleans Saints, Bullard admitted that Dallas&#8217; defense fits what he&#8217;s used to.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c8\">&#8220;I think the defense they&#8217;re trying to bring in is what I&#8217;ve done for the last 10 years,&#8221; Bullard said. &#8220;To come in and be a big end, and be present on run downs, to make it tougher for teams to run the ball \u2014 for us to get the run defense going. To have the opportunity to come here, it just fit.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cd\">Fans will have to wait and see what that looks like on a week-to-week basis once Bullard makes his potential return.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ci\">\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter<\/a>for more free coverage from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on SI<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:click=\"q-CwVuhuv1.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"co\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys were hit with major injury issues early this season, particularly on the defensive side of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-480728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}