Mike McCarthy shares plan to hold Dallas starters from final preseason game

With just one game remaining in preseason, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy shared his plans to hold his starters out of the game. Dallas will close their preseason on Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks, and McCarthy plans to use practice only to get his team ready for the regular season.

Mike McCarthy finishing preseason without starters

“Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said the team will work its starters as much as possible in padded practices this week. If all goes to plan, like first two exhibitions, starters won’t need work in Friday’s preseason finale versus Seahawks,” explained Dallas Morning News‘ Michael Gehlken.

The official plan for this week comes as a good sign for fans as the regular season draws near — putting to rest fears of major injuries happening before the season begins. Although there’s always a discussion between rest versus rust when it comes to resting players, McCarthy’s clear emphasis on full practices indicates that the only rest his team will get is on game day itself.

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The Cowboys have seen a number of players suffer camp injuries, including a scare on their offensive line when Tyron Smith injured his ankle in a joint practice. With concerns about health and the defined roles for most of the Dallas stars already in place, it appears that the final preseason game will be a chance for bench players and those in danger of being cut to shine.

Although McCarthy’s comments on Tuesday made the decision “official” on resting their top players, the Cowboys have already gone that route throughout the preseason so far. Dallas’ focus seems to be on the regular season in full after a promising season last year that stalled out in disappointing fashion against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs — still searching for their first playoff win since the 2018-19 season.