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Lee Ruled Out for the Game
Sunday, Nov. 8
According to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus, Lee was hit in the head by his teammate in the third quarter while trying to make a tackle. Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News confirmed the linebacker was out for the remainder of the contest with a concussion.
The Cowboys selected Lee in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft, and he burst onto the scene in a big way in 2011 to the tune of 103 tackles and four interceptions. Ever since then, however, the former Penn State standout has been on the shelf more often than not.
From 2012 through 2014, Lee played in just 17 of a possible 48 regular-season games. He missed the entire 2014 campaign after tearing his ACL in OTAs, but he came back with a vengeance early in 2015.
The 29-year-old star registered 33 tackles, one sack and one interception through the season's first three games, but he then suffered a concussion against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4.
Although Lee was able to work his way back, it seemed inevitable that another injury would creep up at some point because of the bad luck he has had in recent years.
That has led some, including ESPN's Skip Bayless, to wonder if he will ever be able to remain healthy through a significant stretch of games:
The Cowboys may be wondering the same thing, as their reliance on Lee hasn't paid off over the past four seasons.
Even so, Lee's teammates have the utmost respect for him because of what he brings to the table when he is able to compete out on the field, according to Mark Lane of Fox Sports Southwest:
That respect goes all the way to the top as well. Per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks the world of Lee, as he told 105.3 The Fan:
While it seems as though everyone in the Cowboys organization is fully cognizant of just how valuable Lee can be, that value has only been seen for a small fraction of the time he has been part of the league.
Dallas is used to finding secondary options to step in for Lee, and assuming the linebacker misses some time moving forward, head coach Jason Garrett will look upon the likes of rookie Damien Wilson and Andrew Gachkar as players who must step up.
None of them can bring the same things to the table that Lee does when he is in the lineup, but the Cowboys did prove last season that they can have some defensive success without him.
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