Two South Carolina State alumni spent the bulk of Week 3 on injury watch — one nursing a hamstring suffered in the most tragicomic way possible, the other clearing concussion protocol just in time to take the field on a short week.
Durant's Friendly-Fire Fiasco
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Cobie Durant didn't get hurt by an opposing receiver. He got hurt by his own teammate.
During the Cowboys' 37-20 Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders, safety Markquese Bell accidentally stomped on Durant — in a location that quickly went viral — resulting in a hamstring injury that knocked him out for the rest of the game. Durant, to his credit, laughed off the flood of injury rumors that followed the clip's spread online, but the damage was real enough to keep him sidelined.
By the time Dallas prepared for its Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil, Durant had not practiced and was listed as DNP on the injury report alongside safety P.J. Locke. Cowboys executive Stephen Jones offered an encouraging update after the Week 2 win, and head coach Mike McCarthy followed with a pivotal injury update before the Ravens game — but the bottom line remained the same: Durant would miss a few weeks.
It's a frustrating development for a secondary that was already absorbing hits. Durant, Locke, and Malik Hooker were all dealing with injuries heading into Week 3, leaving Dallas thin at the back end of its defense.
Hargrave Clears the Bar in Green Bay
Meanwhile in Green Bay, Javon Hargrave was running a very different race against the clock.
The Packers nose tackle entered the week in concussion protocol, listed as questionable for Thursday night's game against the Atlanta Falcons — a brutal timeline given the short turnaround. Green Bay's final injury report kept him at questionable, and the team did not elevate anyone from the practice squad, a signal that at least one of its injured defensive linemen was expected to be available.
Sure enough, Hargrave was not on the inactive list Thursday, confirming his return to the lineup. He played in the Packers' loss to Atlanta, 35-14 — not the outcome Green Bay wanted, but Hargrave's availability itself was a win after what looked like it could have been a multi-week absence.
The Packers had been weighing a three-way battle for a roster spot among Hargrave, Anthony Campbell, and Eric Johnson II as recently as midweek, so his clearance simplified their defensive line math considerably.
It was a bruising stretch for SC State's NFL contingent. Durant's timeline remains unclear as Dallas heads deeper into its schedule, while Hargrave gets a full week to recover before the Packers' next game. Neither story has a clean ending yet — but both Bulldogs are still in the conversation, which is more than it looked like at various points this week.
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