Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, according to early reports, was not expected to survive his extensive injuries. In November, he tore the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his right knee. The injury happened midway through the third quarter of last week’s 31-13 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Mingo came to the Cowboys from the Carolina Panthers earlier this year. He suffered the injury while attempting to haul in a pass from quarterback Joe Milton III along the back of the end zone. After jumping for the ball, he landed awkwardly, bringing fears of a serious injury to his condition. An MRI has been ordered to determine the severity of the injury. One of the biggest questions surrounding Mingo’s future revolves around how long he’ll be sidelined.
The Cowboys got Mingo by sending a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a seventh-round pick. It’s a smart, important move considering the team’s efforts to shore up a weak receiving corps. His record, however, has been lackluster up to this point. In eight games, he’s produced just five catches for 46 receiving yards and hasn’t hooked up with starting QB Dak Prescott. Even more remarkable is this lack of chemistry. It’s especially noteworthy because Prescott didn’t see action in the last nine games of last season after surgical repair of hamstring avulsion.
The Cowboys will have to re-evaluate their roster decisions, as they put together their 53-man roster later this summer for the 2023 season. Mingo’s potential unavailability for several weeks will affect team chemistry, and depth at wide receiver will be affected as well. This unfortunate realization is not unlike running back Ezekiel Elliott’s ordeal in 2021. He ended up playing through a partially torn PCL without surgery, but he had to wear a brace that limited his explosiveness.
NFL reporter Todd Archer has been all over Mingo’s injury story. In particular he makes great points about what this could mean for the Cowboys as they maneuver their roster plans through the preseason.
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