Cowboys put rookie Malachi Lawrence on IR, bring back Marist Liufau before Colts trip

The Dallas Cowboys will be without first-round outside linebacker Malachi Lawrence for at least the next four games. The team placed him on injured reserve Saturday and activated outside linebacker Marist Liufau from IR to take the open roster spot, ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports reported.

Lawrence hurt his ankle in last Sunday's 33-30 overtime loss to Arizona. He had already been ruled out for Sunday's game at Indianapolis, and Athlon Sports reported that coach Brian Schottenheimer had set his injury apart from the others the team came out of that game with, saying it "might be a little bit longer." The rookie has 13 tackles, a sack and three quarterback hits while playing 41 percent of the defensive snaps, according to PFT.

Liufau, a 2024 third-round pick, broke his forearm in the preseason finale and began the season on IR. He returned to practice Oct. 22, and Dallas Sports Journal noted he was activated 16 days into his return window. He doesn't have Lawrence's draft pedigree, but he gives a thin edge group a healthy body.

The defensive front doesn't get any other help this week. Defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard is still in his own 21-day window with a calf injury and will stay on IR even though he took full practice reps all week, Pro Football Rumors and PFT reported. Dallas also elevated wide receiver Jordan Hudson and tight end James Mitchell from the practice squad. That move makes sense given the injury report: KaVontae Turpin is out, while George Pickens, Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker are all questionable.

What it means in Indianapolis

Dallas is 3-5 and has dropped two of its last three. The win at Philadelphia, 38-21, came between a 23-13 loss at Green Bay and last week's overtime defeat to Arizona. The Cowboys have scored 219 points and allowed 213, about 27 a game on each side. A defense that has given up 30 or more three times can't easily absorb the loss of an edge rusher who was starting to make an impact. The team is 2-2 on the road.

Even so, the market has Dallas as the clear choice. Across the 12 venues on this site's board, the Cowboys are favored at -208 on Novig's moneyline, and the Colts are +203. On the spread, Novig lists Dallas at -4.5 for -102. Pinnacle's -4 at -109 is the best Cowboys number anywhere, while DraftKings is the high mark for the Colts at +5.5, priced at -115. That leaves a full point between the venues. The total is 51.5 on Novig, with the Over at +102 and the Under at -106. Fanatics has the best Under at 52 for -110. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.3 to 4.9 percent.

The schedule gets harder after this week. San Francisco comes to Arlington on Nov. 15, and the early prices for that game have the 49ers favored at -199 on Novig. The best Dallas moneyline is +176 at FanDuel. Lawrence will miss both games, which means Liufau and the rest of the edge group will have to replace his snaps against two very different offenses.