Cowboys' Joey Porter Jr. running again, but status vs. 49ers still hinges on Friday practice

Joey Porter Jr. has started running again. The Dallas Cowboys need that news to turn into more before Sunday, when the San Francisco 49ers visit AT&T Stadium. Porter missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with the ankle and foot problem that kept him out of last week's win in Indianapolis. As SB Nation noted in its daily roundup for Blogging The Boys, the cornerback spoke Thursday about where his recovery stands.

According to DallasCowboys.com, Porter first hurt the ankle in his Dallas debut, the 34-30 win at Houston shortly after the late-September trade with Pittsburgh. He kept playing on it and it got worse, and the team eventually shut him down for the Colts game. Porter had already missed the Tampa Bay loss with a severe intestinal illness. So far he has missed two of the five games since the trade. Porter told the team site he had not been cleared to run for the previous couple of weeks, which makes the return to running his most encouraging sign in some time. How he handles Friday's and Saturday's practices will decide whether he plays.

Porter also pushed back on online speculation that his absences have something to do with his contract. "My goal is to win games and play football," he told DallasCowboys.com, adding that he would be on the field if there was any chance he could be.

The Cowboys have other injuries too. The Dallas Morning News reported that Jake Ferguson, Tyler Goodson and P.J. Locke have already been ruled out for Sunday. A to Z Sports reported that rookie Jaishawn Barham is getting work at outside linebacker because injuries have piled up among the edge rushers.

What it means for Sunday against San Francisco

At 4-5, Dallas has not won two games in a row all season. It has alternated wins and losses for the last six weeks: a 33-30 home loss to Arizona, then the 27-23 win at Indianapolis. San Francisco arrives at 7-1, and its offense of Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle is the kind that puts the most pressure on a short-handed secondary. Dallas has given up 20 or more points in eight of nine games, so getting its top cornerback back would matter.

The board for Sunday's game lists 12 venues, and the 49ers are favored. Novig has San Francisco at -194 on the moneyline and Dallas at +190. On the spread, Novig lists the 49ers as 3.5-point favorites at -108, with the Cowboys +3.5 at +106. The most points available on Dallas are at bet365, +4.5 at -117. That one-point gap is the widest difference between venues on the spread, and sportsbook hold runs from 2.9% to 5.0%. The total is 55.5 at Novig, while Hard Rock Bet has the Under at 56.5 for -110.

The schedule eases after this game. Tennessee visits the following week, and Novig has Dallas favored at -426 on the moneyline and by 7.5 points. Whether the Cowboys reach that game above .500 may depend on whether Porter is cleared by the weekend.