Cowboys Face Mountain Of Questions

Who will or won’t play for the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in their regular season opener in Chicago next Monday night was the question.

Wide receiver Michael Irvin, defensive end Shante Carver and tight end Jay Novacek won’t. Irvin and Carver are serving NFL suspensions and Novacek has a degenerative disc in his back that needs rest.

Coach Barry Switzer, who calls his team the thinnest in football - and he’s not talking calories - said he thinks running back Emmitt Smith, offensive lineman Mark Tuinei, cornerback-wide receiver Deion Sanders and tight end Erik Bjornson will take the field against the Bears.

“We think Emmitt and Mark will be able to go,” Switzer said. “We’ll know for sure later in the week.”

Smith was getting treatment for a sprained knee and didn’t practice. Nor did Tuinei, who has a sprained knee ligament. Bjornson, nursing a pulled hamstring, worked out in shorts and pads.

“We’re counting on Bjornson playing,” Switzer said. “We need him in there particularly if we run two-tight-end sets.”

Around the league

The Carolina Panthers changed third-string quarterbacks by releasing 32-year-old Kelly Stouffer and claiming Jay Barker one day after he had been waived by New England… . The St. Louis Rams traded wide receiver Todd Kinchen to the Denver Broncos for an undisclosed draft choice. Kinchen, 27, was the Rams’ third-round draft choice in 1992 out of LSU. He played in 49 games in five seasons with two starts. He caught 67 passes for 908 yards and four touchdowns… . The Minnesota Vikings released 11-year veteran punter Mike Saxon, instead opting to keep kickoff specialist Mitch Berger as their punter.