Injured Cowboys starters return to practice field: 'The time is now'

Despite coming into the playoffs on a low after the 26-6 loss to Washington, the Dallas Cowboys have plenty to be hopeful about. Multiple injured starters are ready to make their return to the field on Monday night, though it’s hard to say which could have the biggest impact.

Starting center Tyler Biadasz has only missed one full game but his absence caused three-fifths of the offensive line to shuffle. With Biadasz out of the lineup, Dallas had just 64 rushing yards on Sunday, which was two yards shy of a season-low.

Fresh off of his high-ankle sprain, the center out of Wisconsin shared a very positive update on his health on Wednesday.

“I feel great, I do,” Biadasz said. “I’ll be ready to go.”

With Biadasz back, the Cowboys can move Connor McGovern back to left guard and slot rookie Tyler Smith back in at left tackle where he had been thriving in previous weeks.

Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins received his designation to return to practice this week after injuring his pectoral muscle in mid-December.

“I feel good. I feel like I could’ve been back sooner but, with the [IR] rules, I had to be out four weeks,” Hankins told reporters on Wednesday. “But I’m not mad about it, it just gave me more time to get my body right and ready for the playoffs.

“The time is now.”

Cowboys green dot Leighton Vander Esch returns to defense

Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who serves as the Cowboys’ green dot, a.k.a. the main point of communication between the defense and DC Dan Quinn, was the team’s leading tackler when he suffered a shoulder stinger almost a month ago. Getting him back on the field will not only increase the defense’s productivity, but it will also improve the over cohesion of the defense, which was lacking in the regular season finale.

“We’re thrilled to have him back today and just want to see him get through the week of prep,” Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday. “Communication is so important and he’s done it at a high level for quite some time. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly this week.”

Vander Esch has remained questionable leading up to the first round of playoffs, however, he hinted on social media that he is on track to play Monday night. He shared a photo on Instagram of him tackling Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette with a huffing emoji and a wolf emoji.

“I’ll say it 100x, I feel good,” Vander Esch said late last week. “Just working out and trying to stay in shape for the playoffs. [Keeping] my body up to playing speed and getting ready to go back out there and make this [playoff] run.”