The Cowboys have gone without wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and cornerback Caelen Carson all season, but that may not be the case for much longer. The team opened both players’ 21-day practice windows on Wednesday, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.
Mingo sprained the PCL in his right knee in August, forcing him to start his first full season in Dallas on injured reserve. The Panthers invested a high selection on Mingo in 2023, taking the former Mississippi receiver 39th overall. Mingo underwhelmed in a Panthers uniform, though, and the team elected to send him and a seventh-round selection to the Cowboys for a fourth-rounder before last November’s trade deadline.
After joining the Cowboys, Mingo played in eight games and failed to establish himself with a change of scenery, catching a mere five of 16 targets for 46 yards. Between the Panthers and Cowboys, he appeared in 17 games last season and secured just 17 of his 42 targets for 167 yards and no scores.
If Mingo plays this year, he should be low on a Dallas WR depth chart that possesses an enviable one-two punch in CeeDee Lamb (currently injured) and George Pickens. Fellow receivers KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert have combined for 21 catches, meanwhile, and tight end Jake Ferguson has already made 34 receptions during the team’s 1-2-1 start.
Carson, out since hyperextending his knee in July, has endured an injury-marred career so far. The 2024 fifth-rounder from Wake Forest only made six appearances (five starts) as a rookie before going on IR with a shoulder ailment that required surgery. The Carson-less Cowboys have opened this season dead last in the NFL against the pass, having surrendered 297.3 yards per game. Although Carson remains largely unproven at the pro level, the Cowboys will happily welcome him back as a reinforcement if he proves healthy enough for activation.
Because the Cowboys designated Mingo as an IR-return player in August, he already counts toward their eight-activation limit in-season. Carson, however, landed on IR after Dallas set its initial 53-man roster. He will not count toward the Cowboys’ activation total until the team moves him back onto its 53-man roster.