Dez Bryant Of Dallas Cowboys Headed For Second Surgery
By Shawn S. Lealos
The 2015 season is nearly over, and it's already been a season to forget for Dallas Cowboys fans. Sitting at 4-11 and looking at a top-5 draft choice, the Cowboys look to close out the season against the Redskins on a positive note. Having beaten their NFC East rivals already this season, with a plethora of injured players no less, Cowboys fans have something to look forward to as Dallas brings their season to an official end. To add to the excitement, one Dallas running back is only three yards away from a notable milestone.
Darren McFadden Sheds Injury Prone Rep
A decade ago, running back Fred Taylor had the nickname "Fragile" Fred because he couldn't stay healthy. He was constantly injured through his first four seasons and many thought he would never meet the expectations his talent laid at his feet. However, he followed up with back-to-back 16-game seasons and shed that label. Taylor ended up playing for 13 seasons and has the 16th most rushing yards of any running back in NFL history. Darren McFadden played his first seven seasons for the Oakland Raiders. He was always considered injury prone until he finally played his first full 16-game season last year. This year, he is on his way to his second full season and only needs three yards for his second 1,000-yard season. Has he finally shed that label?
“That’s always been a knock on me as far as being durable and injuries and things," McFadden said. "I just feel like I showed a lot of people that I can go out there and stay healthy and still run the ball at a high pace in this league.”
Dez Bryant Needs Second Surgery on Foot
The Dallas Cowboys finally placed Tony Romo on the injured reserve list last week, ending his season after keeping him active until their playoff hopes died. While owner Jerry Jones said that he wasn't going to shut down Dez Bryant because all he needed was more reps, that turned out to be not quite true. With Dallas out of the playoffs, Bryant was shut down and now it turns out that he needs a second surgery on his broken foot, adding more bone graft to it. This would explain why he didn't look normal out there when he returned too early from his first surgery. According to Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who suffered the same injury a few years back, Bryant should not have returned so quickly.
“You don’t want to rush it and then it sets you back," Jones said. "If you come back too early, then it can put you back again. So, my thing to Dez is, just get fully healthy and then you can go out there and help your teammates.”
When the Dallas Cowboys drafted Byron Jones in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, they drafted him as a cornerback, but they also mentioned how he could play safety as well. When Orlando Scandrick went down in the preseason with an injury, it looked like Jones would move to the starting cornerback position. However, Morris Claiborne won the job and Jones played nickel and some safety. When Claiborne was injured, Jones played more corner. However, Jones struggled at corner against the New York Jets and he looks more like a safety in the NFL than a corner. That seems to be what Dallas thinks as well. Against Buffalo, Jones played safety and will do so against Washington as well.
"We wanted to give him a real good look at safety. He's done so many good things for us at different spots," coach Jason Garrett said. "We just wanted to give him a chance to practice there and play there throughout the ballgame."
Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.