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One of the more surprising selections that the Dallas Cowboys made in the draft a few months ago was offensive lineman Connor McGovern out of Penn State.
The Cowboys boast one of the NFL’s best offensive lines so it was curious to see them add to it with such a premium pick, but after people found out how highly Dallas had McGovern rated the hype around him began to grow. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been realized as he’s been battling injury issues all throughout training camp.
It seems as if the injury bug might last a bit longer for McGovern. ESPN’s Todd Archer reported on Thursday that the third-round rookie suffered a setback and that his season is in doubt. You never want to hear that.
Third-round pick Connor McGovern suffered a setback in his recovery from a partially torn pectoral muscle, putting his status for the season in jeopardy, according to sources. McGovern took part in only two training-camp practices after suffering the injury during the offseason program. It’s not clear whether McGovern would need surgery or attempt to rehab the injury again. He could be placed on injured reserve at Saturday’s final cuts or placed on IR a day later, which would allow him to return later in the season.
There is still a lot of depth on the offensive line even without McGovern, but it’s still not great when you consider how high the Cowboys took him. McGovern missing the season (or at least a chunk of it) could open up a roster spot for someone like Adam Redmond (as our own Danny Phantom noted earlier this week).
On the subject of roster spots, the Cowboys would have to first carry McGovern on their 53-man roster if they did ultimately want to put him on injured reserve. Those types of roster decisions can always be tricky as you have to temporarily move on from someone else who you don’t believe other teams will have interest in. It’s not the most complicated thing ever, but it’s not exactly fun.
Hopefully Connor McGovern is able to get properly healed with time. The Cowboys are fortunate to have other offensive linemen that can play in his absence and there was a lot of thought that McGovern was an investment more in the future than the present anyway.