The Dallas Cowboys may have suffered a significant blow with only two short weeks left until the start of the 2015 NFL season. The Cowboys fear that cornerback Orlando Scandrick has torn his ACL, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed the report shortly thereafter, adding that the team will wait for an MRI to confirm their suspicions.
Scandrick went down early during practice on Tuesday. Here's a picture from the scene.
Orlando Scandrick collided with Lucky Whitehead. It's 32s knee. Not good. pic.twitter.com/MSwpb90OjB
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 26, 2015
UPDATE, 8:40 AM: The team has confirmed that Scandrick tore both his ACL and MCL.
Scandrick, 28, has likely become the Cowboys best defensive back in recent seasons. While much of that is due to the poor efforts and limited contributions of Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr, Scandrick has also proven both capable and consistent. Last season for Dallas, Scandrick finished with 55 tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and nine passes defensed.
A former fifth-round pick of the Cowboys, Scandrick has steadily worked his way up the Dallas depth chart, displacing both Claiborne and Carr on his way. The Cowboys did spend their first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft on corner/safety hybrid Bryon Jones. If Scandrick is down for the season, the pressure on Jones to develop and Claiborne to finally contribute, will increase ten-fold.
