Posted on Fri, Jul. 23, 2004
Woodson's status clouded by injury
By Jennifer Floyd Engel
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING - Cowboys coach Bill Parcells joked this off-season that with older players such as safety Darren Woodson, you just never know when they will get hurt and be unable to play.
Nobody is laughing at Valley Ranch nowadays.
Two sources confirmed that Woodson is likely to miss training camp and might be in danger of missing part of the season after rupturing a disk in his back while doing off-season workouts. Sources said the Cowboys and Woodson are discussing whether surgery is necessary, which it probably is, with a final decision possibly coming today.
If Woodson has surgery, he is likely to miss six to eight weeks, which means he might not be available for at least the first two games of the season. If Woodson opts to try rehab, keeping surgery as a last resort, he is likely to remain in Dallas when the Cowboys leave for training camp in Oxnard, Calif., on Thursday.
Neither Parcells nor Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was available for comment Thursday.
Calls to Woodson's home Thursday were not returned.
Even before the injury, however, the 35-year-old Woodson acknowledged that 2004 could very well be his final season.
"I'm a realist about it. There is talk. This could be my last year," Woodson told the Star-Telegram in May.
And, if the back injury turns out to be more serious than thought, there is a chance his final season could end without his playing a single game.
Losing Woodson for even a short period of time would be a huge blow to the Cowboys. Not only is Woodson a key cog in the Cowboys' highly rated secondary, but he is a vocal leader and the heart and soul of the team. He has been with the Cowboys since being drafted by them in 1992 and, along with offensive lineman Larry Allen, is one of their last links to the Super Bowl titles of the 1990s. He is the franchise's all-time leading tackler. He has been a mentor to young secondary members such as Roy Williams, Terence Newman and Pete Hunter.
Woodson is backed up by Tony Dixon, who was a key contributor on special teams last season.
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