ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas Cowboys safety P.J. Locke has a foot injury and is questionable to return to Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reported during the first quarter.
Locke had gone to the locker room a few minutes earlier. Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News reported that multiple Cowboys staffers walked Locke off the field while he barely put pressure on one of his legs. Locke covered the last stretch toward the tunnel slowly under his own power.
Dallas led 7-0 when Locke left the field, on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys were up 17-3 midway through the second quarter after a 25-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal and a second Prescott touchdown throw.
Dallas Cowboys Safety Depth With Malik Hooker Already Out
Locke was playing the snaps Malik Hooker held before the veteran fractured his forearm in the Sept. 13 opener at the New York Giants. Hooker had surgery two days later. The Cowboys did not put him on injured reserve, a move that would have cost him a minimum of four games.
“It sounds like it’s one that doesn’t require as long a period of time,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday. “So we’re hoping it’s a two week window.”
Schottenheimer ruled Hooker out Friday, along with linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who strained a hamstring in the same game. Neither practiced Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
Schottenheimer settled the replacement question on Monday, when he was asked whether first-round pick Caleb Downs would move to the third level of the defense in Hooker’s place.
“We love P.J. Locke,” Schottenheimer said. “I think Caleb played really, really well… Caleb’s a guy that can move around, but we like him down near the line of scrimmage.”
That kept Downs in the slot on passing downs. Locke went to the back end next to Jalen Thompson.
Thompson, Downs, Markquese Bell, and Alijah Clark are the safeties left while Locke is in the locker room. Thompson spent seven seasons in Arizona before Dallas gave him a three-year, $36 million contract in March. Bell is in his fifth season with the Cowboys and played 17 games last year. Dallas signed Clark as an undrafted rookie out of Syracuse in April 2025, waived him at the end of that August, brought him back on the practice squad two days later, and promoted him to the active roster in October.
P.J. Locke’s Injury History Since Signing With The Dallas Cowboys
Locke signed with Dallas in March. The one-year deal is worth up to $5 million. Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker was his defensive backs coach in Denver.
His first training camp practice with the Cowboys ended early. Locke hyperextended his left knee on July 29 in Oxnard, California, back-pedaling on a play where nobody hit him. He limped off with head trainer Jim Maurer.
Schottenheimer described the injury as a minor hyperextension the next day and held Locke out of practice as a precaution.
“Tests looked great,” Schottenheimer said.
Locke was back on the field within a week. He played 28 defensive snaps and made 2 tackles in the opener at New York.
Locke also missed time late last season, when a leg injury knocked him out of Denver’s Week 18 win. He was a full participant in practice the following week and played in the divisional round, where he intercepted a pass.
Dallas plays the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS. The Cowboys are the designated home team.
