Malik Jefferson ruled out of preseason game vs. Jacksonville with foot injury

The Dallas Cowboys are back on the football field, facing off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first preseason game of the year. Important starters are not getting snaps at AT&T Stadium but head coach Mike McCarthy is seeing some roster battles play out in front of him.

Local product Malik Jefferson got some snaps on Saturday. The linebacker signed with Dallas during the offseason but has run into a bump in the road. He went down with an injury in the second half and has not returned since.

Sideline reporter Hailey Sutton was able to provide an update on Jefferson, saying he has been ruled out of the game. Jefferson attempted to get back onto the field, working his right foot according to Sutton. Unfortunately, the linebacker was in too much pain and will not ply for the rest of the night.

“Malik Jefferson has officially been ruled out of the game with what they are describing as a foot injury,” Sutton said. “He went into the blue tent. We saw the medical staff grabbing some tape, taping it up. He then tried to do a little bit of backpedaling, a little bit of exploding off what looked like his right foot. But you could tell he was in a lot of pain. He has been ruled out for the rest of the game.”

Jefferson is from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, attending Mesquite (TX) Poteet. He was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and played his college ball with the Texas Longhorns. After originally being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, Jefferson is getting a chance with his hometown NFL team.

Dallas signed Jefferson back in February to a Reserve/Futures contract. He was with the organization during the 2022 season but was on the practice squad. Jefferson’s last action in an NFL game came in 2021 with the Indianapolis Colts.

If Jefferson is going to make the 53-man roster when the regular season rolls around, he is expected to have some work to do. Linebacker is a spot where Dallas feels comfortable, especially with how Dan Quinn runs his defense.

Now, Jefferson is going to have an injury to deal with. Nothing official has been released from the team but it’s significant enough to keep him from playing out the game. Hopefully, the news is not too bad from Mike McCarthy postgame and Jefferson can continue in training camp moving forward.