Cowboys face COVID-19 issues including loss of head coach McCarthy ahead of Saints game

COVID-19 cases are causing issues for the Dallas Cowboys ahead of their road game Thursday night in New Orleans versus the Saints.

Head coach Mike McCarthy is among at least eight coaches and players in health and safety protocols after testing positive, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Cowboys’ HC Mike McCarthy is out for Thursday night’s game bs Saints due to COVID, per sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 29, 2021

As one league source just said: “there are up to eight positives in Dallas. Details still rolling in.”

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 29, 2021

The Cowboys will be without starting right tackle Terence Steele after he tested positive for COVID-19, McCarthy announced Sunday morning.

The USA Today reports assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko, offensive assistant Scott Tolzien and strength and conditioning coordinator Harold Nash entered COVID-19 protocol this weekend. Strength and conditioning staff assistants Kendall Smith and Cedric Smith were already in protocol.

Meanwhile, Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill will miss two games including the game in New Orleans due to suspension for a flagrant action in last week’s game against the Raiders (see below).

The Cowboys and Saints both lost Thanksgiving day games last week.

TRYSTEN HILL SUSPENDED TWO GAMES
Trysten Hill of the Dallas Cowboys has been suspended without pay for two games for violations of unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules following Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension for a violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 14(c) which prohibits striking, swinging at, or clubbing the head, neck, or face of an opponent with the wrist(s), arm(s), elbow(s), or hand(s), as well as Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 which prohibits any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.
In a letter to Hill, Runyan wrote: “After the Las Vegas Raiders-Dallas Cowboys game on November 25, you engaged in conduct that this office considers unnecessary roughness and displays a lack of sportsmanship. Specifically, as both teams were shaking hands, you waited more than 50 seconds for your opponent at the 50-yard line. When you located him, you then walked toward him in the opposite direction of your locker room. You both engaged in a verbal chest-to-chest confrontation which you escalated by throwing an open hand punch to his facemask, forcible enough to cause your opponent’s helmet to come off.”
Hill will be eligible to return to the Cowboys’ active roster on Monday, December 13, following the team’s December 2 game against New Orleans and December 12 game against Washington.
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Hill may appeal the suspension. Any appeal will be heard and decided by either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.