Dallas Cowboys LB Dan Connor to get better role in the upcoming season – NFL News
Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker Dan Connor, who has joined the team during the present offseason after parting ways with the Carolina Panthers, is not participating in organised team activities owing to a shoulder injury, but his chances for the upcoming season
are very bright.
Last year, Cowboys had an injured linebacker Bruce Carter, who was unable to play actively with the team, and just to ensure that they do not fall short of options in the next season they have added Connor to the squad.
Carter has recovered from the injury that bothered him last year and he is now taking part in OTAs and training sessions and head coach Jason Garrett and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan are pretty impressed with the player.
This has seemingly made competition a bit harder for Connor who is yet to impress the observers during training session owing to the injury.
However, this might not be a problem for him and given his past performances Cowboys are pretty certain that he will be an important part of the squad in the 2012 season.
According to the details present on the team’s official website, Ryan said of Connor:
"Dan Connor is a d**n good football player, so he's going to find a role in here too. Whether it's starting or playing, it doesn't matter to me. We're going to play our best players. We're in a fortunate situation to have three d**n good players there."
Connor started his professional National Football League (NFL) career in 2008 with the Panthers. He did not get enough playing time in his first two seasons, but was later trusted with additional responsibilities.
In the 2010 season, he played and started eight games in which he recorded a total of 47 tackles.
Last year, he started 11 games while playing 15 in which he registered a total of 75 tackles.
Linebacker, Sean Lee, who was Cowboys’ regular starter last year, knows Connor back from his college days when they both played together. Lee also thinks that Connor’s present injury is not going to affect his chances in the next season.
Lee said of Connor:
“Dan's extremely smart. He's got unbelievable instincts, so I'm anticipating, when he comes in, he'll pick it up pretty quick. I don't think that'll be an issue.”
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