FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard is making progress, coach Brian Schottenheimer said Tuesday, though he stopped short of committing either way on availability.
Schottenheimer talked to Bullard on Tuesday. Neither the coach nor the club has specified the injury.
“He’s doing well. He’s making progress. I’m not going to say 100% any way or the other, but he’s doing well,” Schottenheimer said. “I talked to him today. He feels much, much better. That’s a good thing going into the long weekend and the rest of this week.”
Bullard was on the training camp injury list on Aug. 8, when Schottenheimer went through eight players in a single availability.
The Dallas Cowboys’ Schedule Before Week 1
His timing benefits him. Dallas practices in pads on Wednesday, then gives the players Friday through Sunday off. They come back Monday, take Tuesday off due to the league’s mandated break, and then enter a regular game week.
That leaves 12 days before the opener.
How Jonathan Bullard Got To Dallas
Bullard reached free agency on March 6 and signed in Dallas later that month. His 2025 season was spent in New Orleans, where the Saints had picked him up the previous July.
He was a third-round pick out of Florida in 2016, taken 72nd overall by Chicago after a senior year that brought third-team All-America honors. Ten seasons later he has 247 tackles and 6.5 sacks to his name.
Arizona, Seattle, Atlanta, Minnesota, and New Orleans all came in between. He turns 33 in October.
Marcus Dixon And The New Dallas Cowboys Defense
Marcus Dixon previously coached Bullard. Dixon joined Christian Parker‘s staff this offseason as the defensive line coach, and this reunion contributed to Dallas’s decision in March.
Parker is a first-year coordinator. He replaced Matt Eberflus and installed a base 3-4 on a defense that gave up 30.1 points per game last season, more than any other team in the league.
Bullard is not the only question on that side of the ball. Dallas put linebacker Marist Liufau on injured reserve when it set the initial 53-man roster, and rookie Devin Moore will miss at least four games with a hip injury.
Dallas opens the regular season at the New York Giants on Sept. 13. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
