Cowboys defensive end Ben Gardner will miss his rookie season with a shoulder injury that will require surgery, Gardner confirmed on Instagram on Thursday.
A seventh round pick out of Stanford, Gardner hurt the shoulder during the team’s first fully padded practice on July 26. He returned to practice briefly earlier this month, but quickly exited once again.
In the aforementioned Instagram post, Gardner expressed optimism that he would return in 2015.
“No doubt I'll be back next year, better than ever,” he wrote.
That said, if the Cowboys place Gardner on the injured reserve now he would have to clear waivers, opening up the possibility that another team could snatch him up. In order to safeguard against this, the team can wait until August 26, the first cut-down date, and put Gardner directly on the IR.
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