The Dallas Cowboys are the first team to suffer a big loss in OTA workouts, as linebacker Sean Lee injured his knee and is potentially out for the season and now free agents like Jonathan Vilma and Ernie Sims could be in the mix, while trhe team aclso could look at trade options and this comes as Tony Romo is expected to return fully healthy for training camp.
The Cowboys opened OTA workouts this week and linebacker Sean Lee was injured on the first day of those organized team activities and now the team is afraid that he will be out for the year and ACL injury. This is not the first injury for Lee, who has a long history of getting hurt and now the Cowboys will have to make up for the loss in the middle of their defense. According to ESPN.com, rookie Zack Martin and Lee ended up engaging on a screen pass and that's when Lee went down, although John Clayton reported that it appeared that Lee's knee started to turn before the two players got tied up. Head coach Jason Garrett said that Lee is prepared to recover from the injury and that he has had to deal with ACL issues in the past, including in college and in the NFL.
Lee reportedly tore his ACL and this comes after past injuries when he partially tore his left ACL in the 2009 season and when he tore his right ACL at Penn State in college. The Cowboys came into the offseason looking to improve on defense after ranking in the bottom half of the league in 2013 and now losing Lee will be a major blow for Garrett. The Cowboys originally drafted Lee in the second round of the draft and one reason he slipped was because of injuries and now he has to deal with those issues again. Lee previously needed foot surgery and missed 10 games two years ago and he also lost time and missed five games last season with strained hamstring and sprained neck injuries.
The loss of Lee for the Cowboys is not totally unexpected due to his injuries in the past, but that doesn't make it any less impactful and this comes after the team signed him to an extension for six years and $42 million and the contract also included a $10 million signing bonus. Last season the team used Justin Durant, Ernie Sims and DeVonte Holloman at middle linebacker and now Lee will be out of action for an extended period of time.
Some good news for the Cowboys has Tony Romo set to begin training camp fully healthy after having back surgery this offseason and that starts up in July for the Cowboys, according to ESPN.com. Romo had surgery in December for a bulging disc and the 34 year old has started throwing at full speed as part of his recovery. Last season the Cowboys ranked 14th in the league in passing yards and 24th in the league in rushing yards per game on offense and they are hoping to get that more in balance with Romo and DeMarco Murray.
