News: BTB: Thursday’s Cowboys and Texans preseason game has been cancelled

[NewsBot]

The NFL has shifted course and has cancelled the preseason finale between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.

This has been a devastating week for the city of Houston. Hurricane Harvey has caused an unimaginable level of damage, and it’s rippled into some NFL proceedings.

The Houston Texans have been practicing at The Star in Frisco this week due to their inability to get home to Houston, and the preseason game in which they were scheduled to host the Dallas Cowboys this Thursday was officially moved to Arlington. All proceeds were intended to go to relief efforts, but the game has now been cancelled altogether according to sources.

From @MikeGarafolo & me: The #Texans vs #Cowboys preseason game for Thursday in Arlington has been canceled.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2017​

By all measures both the Cowboys and Texans have handled this situation in the best way possible. With the storm finally moving past Houston and flood waters starting to recede, it’s now possible for the Texans players, coaches, and staff to make it home to Houston. This is a need that understandably takes priority over a meaningless preseason football game.

Texans game against the Cowboys Thursday night has been cancelled so Texans can go home to Houston and be with their families.

— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) August 30, 2017​

It’s hard to imagine the mental toll this week has had on those involved with the Texans. They held their training camp in West Virginia and had a preseason game in New Orleans this past Saturday, so they’ve already been home sparingly since practices for the 2017 season really began. We can all empathize with that feeling.

For those wondering what will happen to the tickets already sold for the game, over 40,000 had been sold as of Wednesday morning, there is an answer. Those who have purchased tickets can either choose to get a refund or donate what they paid to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

In a football sense, the Dallas Cowboys have now reached the end of their preseason. They did ultimately get to play four games as they were featured in this season’s Pro Football Hall of Fame game, so they have a normal set of data to work with. They must now begin the trim down to the mandated 53-man roster with their last set of data being last week’s preseason win over the Oakland Raiders.

Continue reading...