The Dallas Cowboys are preparing to be without their two best edge rushers for at least their Week 5 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers -- and perhaps longer. Lawrence is reportedly dealing with a Lisfranc injury and will be out for several weeks, while Parsons has an ankle sprain and is most likely not going to play in Week 5. Both players were spotted by CBS Sports wearing walking boots on Monday.
Head coach McCarthy confirmed that Parsons has a sprained ankle but would not elaborate on the exact nature of Lawrence's injury, nor did he definitively say whether the team would place him on injured reserve.
"The specifics of it, I think that's more for him to answer," McCarthy said when asked if Lawrence's issue was a Lisfranc injury. "I know the second opinion is complete. So it's gonna be multiple weeks."
Parsons, for his part, said he feels he is letting his team down by missing a game due to injury for the first time in his career.
"It's just frustrating for real," Parsons said. "I put a lot of effort and energy into being ready for the team, so it hurts me. I feel like I'm letting people down. I kind of [thought] of myself as [being] invincible for a while. It's humbling. It's humbling. ... It's part of that test. Faith, keeping that faith alive. Come back strong."
For a team that already lost rotational edge rusher Sam Williams for the season during training camp, it is a brutal pair of injuries. The Cowboys in recent seasons have had arguably the league's top pass rush, but for now will be without their top five edge rushers from last season. (Parsons, Lawrence and Williams, plus Dante Fowler Jr. and Dorance Armstrong, both of whom left the team in free agency.)
"It's definitely the unfortunate part of our game. Definitely tougher with those two guys being on our football team and especially being in the same position," McCarthy said of losing both players at the same time. "But this is what this this game is all about. This is what this league is all about. It takes it takes a lot of players to win in this league. Week in, week out.
"So, it creates a great opportunity for others. And that's really our approach. And, obviously, we have to make some roster adjustments. We're still kinda working through that."
The only other edge rushers on the roster are second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland, Chauncey Golston, Tyrus Wheat and practice-squad elevation Carl Lawson. Kneeland already has had a larger-than-expected role early in his rookie year, and will now be in for an even more expanded slate of snaps.
"I really like what (I've seen from) Marshawn, just the way he's reacted to everything," McCarthy said of the rookie. "You know, every every time he gets more responsibility, he just goes about it with the right attitude and great energy."