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Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle will ‘have a chance to play’ vs 49ers after MRI on hip

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The Cowboys appear to have avoided an injury scare in their backfield.

Running back Rico Dowdle exited Sunday’s Week 4 game before halftime and did not return to the team’s 38-3 win over New England. Early reports suggested that he had suffered a hip injury.

MRI results show the fourth-year ballcarrier has a hip contusion, or in layman’s terms, a deep bruise. Head coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday that Dowdle will work with the rehab group on Wednesday (after the team’s off day Tuesday) and “have a chance to play” this week when the Cowboys travel to San Francisco for a primetime NFC showdown against the undefeated 49ers.

According to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, the team is “more optimistic than we were yesterday” about Dowdle’s availability moving forward.

It was a preseason hip injury that cost the undrafted free agent out of South Carolina his 2021 season. Dowdle’s comeback season of 2022 ended early due to an ankle injury.

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This year, Dowdle has been getting carries as Tony Pollard’s primary backup. Through four games, he has logged 20 carries for 80 yards and added five receptions for 50 yards and a receiving touchdown against Arizona.

On Sunday versus the Patriots, he saw just three rushes for nine yards and one catch for eight yards before leaving the game.

Rookies Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke got extra work after Dowdle’s departure in Week 4. Vaughn was largely ineffective, but Luepke scored his first NFL touchdown on a three-yard carry in the fourth quarter.

Malik Davis is also on the Dallas practice squad if it is determined that Dowdle will not suit up or be limited at Levi’s Stadium.

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