Cowboys’ Kosier out 4-6 weeks
The Dallas Cowboys’ offence has struggled to find a rhythm in the pre-season and now the unit has been dealt a blow. Starting left guard Kyle Kosier will miss four to six weeks after suffering a sprained MCL during practice.
Kosier, who is also the backup centre, was lined up at centre at the time of the injury. In what coach Wade Phillips described as a “freak accident” defensive lineman Marcus Dixon fell on his knee. It is the same injury that will keep defensive player Marcus Spears out of action for four to six weeks. Montrae Holland will replace Kosier in the line-up in the meantime.
"When it's not a season-ending injury it makes you feel better," Phillips said. "These guys are going to come back. We'd like to have them all right now, but we don't. That's part of what goes on. ... If it's similar to Spears, that'd be fine. If it's less than that, it'd be great."
Kosier is coming off a strong 2009 season in which he didn’t miss any games. He’s also in the last year of his contract, earning a base salary of $2.9 million. He’s the second lineman to suffer an injury this week as right tackle Marc Colombo underwent knee surgery this week and will miss up to two weeks of action.
"We certainly like Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier and we want them out here practicing, but it gives other guys an opportunity to step up and show that they can do," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "The backup players we have here have to step up and do their jobs. ... We obviously want our starting players to be available for us, but we have backup players for a reason and we're going to give some younger guys and veteran guys a chance to come in and hopefully show they can be starters or prominent backups on our football team."
The injuries won’t weigh in on Wade Phillips’ decision to play his starters in the team’s next preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. Phillips said quarterback Tony Romo and the offence will play as planned and he has confidence in the unit.
"Our attitude has to be the same no matter what: Protect our quarterback, help the running game and play well," Phillips said. "I feel good about the group we have. ... I think it was smart that we have the veteran players like we have and also the young players coming up. We'll see about our depth, but I think we have a lot of depth in the offensive line."
Last game, the Cowboys’ pass protection looked abysmal on the first unit. Romo was sacked three times in the first series. The team gave up six sacks overall and Romo left the game with a sore back.
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