The Cowboys have seen three of their defensive players land NFL suspensions this offseason and others like linebacker Sean Lee missed time in the spring while recovering from surgeries common to players playing a physically taxing game.
They’ll be without one of their linebackers for the early portion of camp because of a more unusual malady. The team has placed linebacker Damien Wilson on the physically unable to perform list after he was shot in the eye with a paintball during the break between minicamp and training camp.
During a pre-camp press conference, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wilson would miss a few weeks while citing his injury as an example of the unpredictable things that can happen to make a player unavailable over the course of the season.
Jones was responding to questions about the spate of suspended Cowboys defenders and defending the vetting process that the team does before bringing them into the organization. He didn’t say whether ducking when faced with enemy fire would be part of the process in the future.