Injured DE David Irving is away from the Cowboys again. Will he return at all in 2018?
Dallas Cowboys defensive end David Irving has been sidelined for the last four games due to a high ankle sprain, suffered in the 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins on Oct. 21.
But Irving has been away from practices and team meetings while injured because he is still dealing with personal off-field issues that kept him away from the team during the offseason, training camp and for several days after he returned from a four-game suspension to start the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Irving has only played in two games this season but the Cowboys are hopeful he will return for the final December stretch following Thursday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
There are no guarantees.
A high ankle sprain usually has a four-week rehab. Counting the bye following the Redskins game, it’s been more than five weeks since Irving’s injury.
It will be seven weeks by the time the Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 9.
If he doesn’t return for that game then the question might become whether Irving has already played his last game in a Cowboys uniform.
The team has been patient with him as he has dealt with a custody battle with his ex-girlfriend over his five-year-old daughter Zoe. They have been patient because they sympathize with the issue and because of Irving’s immense talent as an interior pass rusher.
But their patience will only last for so long and the Cowboys have yet to get any on-field production from him for a sustained stretch this season.
Irving, who is making $2.91 million in 2018 as a restricted free agent, will be a free agent at the end of the season. The Cowboys are unlikely to re-sign him and his prospects on the open market will be adversely affected by his personal travails.
Irving also missed the first four games of last season because of violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 5:18 PM.