Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee may have finished as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year had it not been for injuries that cut his 2013 season short. His season came to its eventual conclusion when Lee suffered a torn ligament in his neck in December. On Monday, Lee told Todd Archer of ESPN that he's making progress to recover from that issue:
Sean Lee’s injury history poses potential concern for Cowboys
Sean Lee has been labeled as injury prone and a torn ligament in his neck has perpetuated that.
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODA
“I’m working all the neck exercises,” Lee said. “I think it was just having time to heal, allowing that ligament to heal, and it takes a certain amount of time. I think we’re on the path to where it’s pretty much there.”
In the four seasons since Lee was selected in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Lee has missed 18 games and hasn't yet completed an entire 16-game season. His inability to stay on the field has been problematic for the Cowboys, and it's something that Lee recognizes as an issue.
“I don’t need surgery, which is a positive,” Lee said. “But I didn’t play at the end of the year at a very critical time, and it’s been two years in a row, and I need to be out there. There’s no excuse for it. I’ve got to find a way to stay on the football field.”
While none of the injuries suffered by Lee have been nearly as devastating as the torn ACL he suffered in 2008 during his time at Penn State, they have still consistently kept Lee from staying on the field.
On the field, Lee was a player that always seemed to find himself in the right place at the right time during the 2013 season. He racked up four interceptions and one fumble recovery in the 11 games that he played, as the Cowboys averaged two turnovers per game. In the five games Lee was missing, the Cowboys averaged only 1.2 turnovers per game.
With the “injury prone” label now firmly attached to Lee, his recovery from the neck injury will only add to that.
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