With the NFL regular season in the rearview mirror, 12 of 14 elite teams are gearing up for what should be a wild Wild Card Weekend.
49ers (6)-Cowboys (3) will be the second of the three games played on Sunday. The Cowboys, who finished 12-5 and lost the tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed to the Rams, will have home-field advantage for this contest. The 10-7 49ers earned the No. 6 seed thanks to a Week 18 win over the Rams.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The final injury report of the week was released on Thursday with eight players listed on the Cowboys side and 13 players listed on the 49ers side (Note: The Cowboys only held a walk-through, so injury designations are an estimation).
49ers vs. Cowboys Injury Report
Not sure what the above abbreviations mean? Click here to skip to our glossary below.
Latest on 49ers-Cowboys Injuries
Friday Update
The Friday injury report for the Cowboys featured the same eight players as Thursday.
The most noteworthy news is regarding linebacker Keanu Neal (chest/elbow), who did not practice for the second day in a row and has been officially ruled out for Sunday. Strong safety Israel Mukaumu (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve and will not play either. Cornerback Nahshon Wright (NIR-Personal) was removed from the report all together after participating in full yesterday. Running back Tony Pollard (foot), strong safety Jayron Kearse (hamstring), linebacker Francis Bernard (groin), tight end Sean McKeon (neck) and left tackle Tyron Smith (knee/ankle) were all full participants. Pollard missed Week 18 while dealing with a foot injury; he is expected to play this week.
The Friday injury report for the 49ers also featured no new additions.
Defensive end Nick Bosa (Not Injury Related), center Alex Mack (Not Injury Related), tight end George Kittle (Not Injury Related), quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (right thumb), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (groin) and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (calf) were all full participants again today, many of which missed practice earlier in the week. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) was the lone downgrade from a limited participant to a DNP on Friday and is officially questionable heading into the weekend. Linebacker Marcell Harris (Achilles), punter Mitch Wishnowsky (concussion) and strong safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee) are listed as questionable as well; Harris and Hufanga were limited for the third day in a row.
Wishnowsky, left tackle Trent Williams (elbow), running back Elijah Mitchell and strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (groin) were all upgraded from limited to full participants today.
Thursday Update
The Thursday injury report for the Cowboys featured nine players total. The lone addition to the report was strong safety Jayron Kearse (hamstring). Kearse missed Week 18 with a hamstring issue, but was omitted from the report Wednesday.
Linebacker Francis Bernard (groin), tight end Sean McKeon (neck) and left tackle Tyron Smith (knee/ankle) were all upgraded from limited to full participants, while cornerback Nahshon Wright (NIR-Personal) was upgraded from a DNP to full. Running back Tony Pollard (foot) practiced in full for the second day in a row.
The Thursday injury report for the 49ers featured the same 13 players as Wednesday. All five DNPs from Wednesday were upgraded to some degree of participation. Defensive end Nick Bosa (not injury related), center Alex Mack (not injury related) and tight end George Kittle (not injury related) were upgraded to full participants, while left tackle Trent Williams (elbow) and running back Elijah Mitchell (knee) were upgraded to limited participants.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (right thumb) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (groin) were upgraded from limited to full participants. Garoppolo is still battling a torn UCL in his throwing hand that will require surgery this offseason.
Wednesday Update
The Wednesday injury report for the Cowboys featured seven players total — three offensive players and four defensive players.
The Dallas offensive players listed were tight end Sean McKeon (neck), left tackle Tyron Smith (knee/ankle) and running back Tony Pollard (foot). McKeon is the team's fourth-string tight end and was limited today. Smith was also limited with knee and ankle issues and missed Week 18. Pollard also missed Week 18 while dealing with a foot injury that limited him in practice all week. He practiced in full and is "ready to roll," according to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones.
The Dallas defensive players listed were linebackers Francis Bernard (groin) and Keanu Neal (chest/elbow), strong safety Israel Mukuamu (hamstring) and cornerback Nahshon Wright (NIR-personal). All were limited except for Wright, who did not participate while dealing with a non-injury-related personal issue.
Noteworthy omissions from the report today were running back Ezekiel Elliott (knee), cornerback Trevon Diggs (illness), strong safety Jayron Kearse (hamstring) and linebacker Micah Parsons (COVID-19). Elliott has been battling a knee injury and Kearse was held out of Week 18 with a hamstring injury. Diggs also missed Week 18 with what appeared to be a non-COVID-19 illness, while Parsons missed the game on the COVID-19/reserve list; he and Smith were activated today.
The Wednesday injury report for the 49ers was nearly twice as long as their opponent's with 13 players total — six offensive players and seven defensive players.
The San Francisco offensive players listed were quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (right thumb), tight end George Kittle (not injury related), running back Elijah Mitchell (knee), punter Mitch Wishnowsky (concussion), center Alex Mack (not injury related) and left tackle Trent Williams (elbow). Williams did not participate due to an elbow injury which held him out of the 49ers' season finale against the Rams, though the team is hopeful he can play this week. Mitchell did not participate either while dealing with a knee injury which held him out of three games towards the end of the season; the rookie did participate in Weeks 17 and 18. Kittle and Mack did not participate in today's practice for non-injury related reasons.
Both Garoppolo and Wishnowsky were limited participants on Wednesday. Garoppolo is dealing with a lingering torn UCL in his throwing hand which will require surgery this offseason. Wishnowsky is in the concussion protocol after sustaining a hit in the second quarter of last week's game against the Rams.
The San Francisco defensive players listed were linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), Dre Greenlaw (groin) and Marcell Harris (Achilles), strong safeties Talanoa Hufanga (knee) and Jaquiski Tartt (groin), defensive end Nick Bosa (not injury related) and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (calf). Bosa was the lone non-participant of the group, though his absence was not injury-related. All three linebackers and both safeties were limited while Hurst was a full participant. Al-Shaair, Hurst and Harris all missed last week with their respective injuries. Greenlaw underwent groin surgery earlier this season, but played in Week 18, as did Hufanga.
NFL Injury Report Glossary
For Daily Practice Statuses
- DNP: Acronym for "did not participate" in practice that day.
- LP: Acronym for "limited participation" in practice that day.
- FP: Acronym for "full participation" in practice that day.
- (-): Not listed.
For Game Statuses
- Out: Will not play this week.
- Doubtful: Unlikely to play this week.
- Questionable: Not certain to play this week.
- (-): Not listed (in most cases means "active").
