The Cowboys have another crushing injury in Sean Lee

Sean Lee has suffered another serious injury.

The Dallas Cowboys are not only 0-1 this season after falling to the Los Angeles Rams, but they came out of this game with several serious injuries, as linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and tight end Blake Jarwin were lost for either half or all of the regular season. To make matters worse, linebacker Sean Lee will join these walking wounded in Dallas’ sickbay.

Jane Slater is reporting that Lee is expected to miss six weeks due to a hernia and his subsequent surgery. The Cowboys defense is hurting right now, and losing a veteran leader like Lee is nothing short of debilitating.

Sean Lee’s injury is a devastating blow for a thin Dallas defense

Last year was the only time in Lee’s entire career, which has featured two Pro Bowls and one First-Team All-Pro selection, that he played in all 16 games, but he unfortunately had to be relegated to a backup role in Dallas’ base nickel defense behind Smith and Vander Esch. Considering how bad Jaylon Smith looked against the Rams and Vander Esch himself being ruled out for a good chunk of the regular season with an injury, this is bordering on a DEFCON 1 scenario for the Cowboys.

Undrafted free agents Luke Gifford and Joe Thomas, both of whom are several tiers below Lee or any of Dallas’ starting linebackers, will be the most likely candidates to take over Lee and Vander Esch’s stats.

Not only is Lee’s injury a major disappointment for a Cowboys depth chart that couldn’t sustain losing a veteran player of his caliber, but it’s a major bummer for Lee, as one of the best linebackers of the last decade has seen his star potential sapped away from him due to constant bad luck.