Last week, Sean Lee had a disappointing update. It’s a lot worse now.
According to Dallas Morning News reporter, Michael Gehlken, the Cowboys placed Lee on the injured reserve to start the season. According to Gehlken, Lee is recovering from a sports hernia.
At the time, there was no timetable for his return as he did not participate in training camp.
“Cowboys LB Sean Lee is expected to begin the season on injured reserve, sources said,” said Gehlken on Twitter. “CB Jourdan Lewis is among the other candidates under a new rule that allows for quicker and unlimited IR activations.”
Flash to the present, it turns out that Lee is going to miss at least six weeks according to Cowboys insider Jane Slater.
“Sources: #Cowboys LB Sean Lee is expected to be out six weeks after undergoing hernia surgery last week in Philadelphia with noted specialist Dr. William Meyers. Lee started the season on injured reserve and now is looking at a mid-October return.”
This is a huge loss given the fact that fellow linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone. The Cowboys could be looking on the market for depth at linebacker.
As for Lee, the good news is that he does not have a knee injury, which is something that has occurred over the length of his career.
The 33-year old resigned with the Cowboys this offseason. Originally, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Lee had accepted a reduction in base salary to $3.5 million, which is a lot less than the near $10 million that Lee was due to earn.