There's been no shortage of rough Dallas Cowboys news over the last 24 hours, and it just keeps coming - the Cowboys suffered a major blow yesterday when linebacker and defensive captain Sean Lee was lost for the year with a torn ACL, and adding insult to injury, the Cowboys now face penalties from the NFLPA because contact isn't permitted during offseason workouts.
Lee was injured after engaging with rookie offensive lineman Zack Martin on a screen pass. The collective bargaining agreement's section on OTAs states that "No live contact is permitted. No one-on-one offense vs. defense drills are permitted (i.e., no offensive linemen vs. defensive linemen pass rush or pass protection drills, no wide receivers vs. defensive backs bump-and-run drills, and no one-on-one special teams drills involving both offense and defense are permitted)."
The NFLPA hasn't requested a copy of the practice tape yet, but video of the injury is available online. The players association is 'monitoring the situation', but should they decide to act, the penalties could include a $100,000 fine for Cowboys HC Jason Garrett and the loss of practice days.
There's precedent here - the Seahawks lost practice days for a similar violation in 2012, and Tampa Bay was warned but not penalized for minor contact drills during their OTAs last season. Regardless of the NFLPA's decision, the loss of their defensive anchor in 2014 is a far worse penalty than anything the association could hand down.
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