The Cowboys have made a change in the middle of their defensive line, adding defensive tackle Carlos Watkins off the Commanders’ practice squad.
Watkins, who played for the Cowboys in 27 games from 2021-22, replaces Jordan Phillips, who was moved to IR with a wrist injury.
Phillips would be eligible to return after four games (Oct. 27 in San Francisco) if he’s cleared to play. The Cowboys have not determined how serious the injury is to Phillips, who was acquired by trade back in August during the middle of training camp.
The addition of Watkins brings a familiar face to the defense, although he played in Dan Quinn’s defensive system. Watkins left for Arizona in 2023 in free agency and spent one season with the Cardinals before rejoining Quinn in Washington. He was placed on their practice squad but did play last week against the Giants.
Overall, Watkins has played seven years, including the first four in Houston.
With the Cowboys, Watkins had his best year of his career in 2021, where he had a personal-best 32 tackles, including 17 solo. He also recorded his only career interception and touchdown with a pick-six against the Saints.
He left for the Cardinals in 2023 but a biceps injury required season-ending surgery, cutting his season to just two games played.
Wednesday has not been good for Dallas Cowboys defensive tackles. Head coach Mike McCarthy announced Jordan Phillips would be put on Injured Reserve after just two weeks, meaning he will miss at least the next four games. Not too long after, once on the practice field, an injury occurred to Mazi Smith.
No specifics regarding the injury are known at the time of publishing. Smith was seen walking off with the Cowboys’ head athletic trainer. Not what Dallas needed just a few days before the Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
“Cowboys DT Mazi Smith is leaving practice with head athletic trainer Dr. Jim Maurer,” Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said via X. “This comes after the Cowboys had to put fellow defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on the injured reserve list this morning with a wrist injury.”
“He lost a lot of weight when he got here,” Zimmer said before the season. “He was trying to be an attacking 3-technique to get up the field. We’re gonna probably play blocks a little bit more, and try not to get reached so linebackers know where they’re supposed to fit — so forth and so on. That’s the biggest thing. … Yeah, it’s what he did in college.”
Now, there might be an injury for Smith to work through early in the season. An injury report should be released later Wednesday, likely giving more information and the status of Smith moving forward.