SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman will miss the entire preseason for the second time in four seasons because of a groin injury.
“Initially, (trainers) said through the preseason. They haven’t been more specific than that,” coach Jason Garrett said Thursday. “So anything else is speculation.”
Newman was hurt in practice Wednesday when he got tangled with a receiver during pass coverage drills. He later posted on his Twitter account, “A little groin pull and be back for the jets!”
The Cowboys’ season opener is Sept. 11 at New York.
Newman, going into his ninth NFL season, missed all four preseason games in 2008 because of a groin injury. He returned after the season opener, then later missed five games because of a sports hernia, playing a career-low 10 games that season.
“Terence clearly came back to training camp in great shape. He looked outstanding, really seemed to dive into the defense, understand what his role might be and he was practicing really as well as he’s practiced in a long time,” Garrett said. “It’s disappointing whenever you lose a player of his caliber, but the biggest thing he needs to do is stay engaged with what we’re doing on defense and what we’re doing throughout our football team and spend a lot of time in that training room to come back as quickly as he can.”
Newman wasn’t on the field for the team’s walkthrough session Thursday morning.
It is another setback for Newman, who managed to start all 32 games the past two seasons even while dealing with nagging injuries with his knee, ankle and ribs.
There also is the fact that Dallas is installing a new defensive scheme with new coordinator Rob Ryan.
“Terence will be into it mentally. A lot of this is mental gymnastics with everything being new,” secondary coach Dave Campo said. “I don’t think he’ll lose too much there. ... I’m always concerned because he has had a few injuries and again, he’s really excited about this season. I really think he will do what it takes to get himself ready and I don’t think we’re going to play him until he’s ready. Hopefully, that will be for the first ball game.”