The Cowboys haven’t been able to get newly signed guard Mackenzy Bernardeau on the field yet because of a hip injury and it will be a while until they are able to see him in action.
Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com reports that Bernardeau had surgery over the weekend to repair a tear in his right hip. The Cowboys hope that he can return to the practice field in 10-12 weeks, which would get him back once the team is already in training camp.
If he’s at the early end of that timeline, the Cowboys might not have any problem following though on their plans to start Bernardeau, who signed a four-year deal worth $11 million this offseason, at right guard this season. Any setback in his recovery will make that difficult, however, and it would force the Cowboys to take a long look at Bill Nagy, David Arkin and Kevin Kowalski as options for the starting lineup.
Dallas made serious attempts to upgrade two of the weakest parts of the team this offseason. They acquired Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne to improve at cornerback and they signed Bernardeau and Nate Livings to shore up the interior of their offensive line. The results of those moves will go a long way toward determining what the Cowboys are able to accomplish in 2012.