NFL: Cowboys Suffer Double Whammy In Season Opener

By JOE FRISARO

UsFANS.com Managing Editor


The injury bug shows no favoritism in professional football. It doesn’t matter if you’re a $42 million receiver or a $300,000 backup – a torn anterior cruciate ligament carries the same price tag.

And what a cost the Dallas Cowboys are paying right now. Prize receiver Joey Galloway is out for the season after ripping up the ACL in his left knee in Sunday’s 41-14 debacle at Philadelphia.

Gone is Dallas’ projected big-play man, the game-breaker expected to replace the retired Michael Irvin. So important was Galloway to the Cowboys, they surrendered two No. 1 draft picks to get him in a trade with Seattle. Dallas must now move on without their $42 million receiver.

“Injuries are a part of our game, losing is a part of the game, and anybody who doesn't understand that you have to come back after having adverse times shouldn't be in the game of football," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is quoted in The Dallas Morning News. "I don't know how to describe how disappointed I am to have made the commitment we made to bring Joey here and ... the type of impact we all felt he would have on this offense. It's going to be a very tough thing to handle."

Perhaps an even tougher blow for the Cowboys was delivered to the head of Troy Aikman.

The 33-year-old quarterback sustained the ninth concussion in his career. He missed two games last year after taking two knocks to the brain in nine days. Aikman has spent the past few days consulting with specialists.

The burning question now is will Aikman retire?

Running back Emmitt Smith was asked by the Dallas media if he would be shocked if Aikman retired. “Probably not,” he said.

"The player can assess best where he's at mentally, physically, and what he's going to do next," Smith said. "I think Troy is smart enough to know whether or not he can get back on the football field and perform at his best, and he's smart enough to know if he wants to take that risk. He needs some time away to think about it."

The NFL leaves such delicate decisions in the hands – and heads – of each player. There is no concussion knock out rule, where a player must retire after “X” amount of hits to the skull. You just hope the medical staff shoots straight with Aikman, because competitors don’t usually take themselves out of action. That’s why they are great competitors, they play through adversity, even if their bodies can’t hold up.

"I've been visiting with his doctors and our doctors (Monday), and this injury is not as serious as what he incurred last year," Jones told the Dallas media. "If his symptoms should become acceptable here in the next couple of days, then the doctors have recommended that he can play. I'm not interested in any way of jeopardizing his long-term well-being. If you think I'm pushing him on behalf of winning a ballgame, the answer is no."

Who knows what “not as serious” really means?

Last year, Aikman said his doctors told him that he had suffered a concussion when he took a head-to-head blow against Indianapolis on Oct. 31. At the time, Cowboys officials stated the injury was not a concussion. Cleared to return last Nov. 8, Aikman was knocked out of a game against Minnesota.

Granted injuries are part of the game. So is retirement. We might be seeing the end of another brilliant quarterback’s career.

Article courtesy of UsFANS.com