MOBILE, Ala.– From injured reserve in 2014 to Hawaii this week, it's been a long road back for Sean Lee.
That's why Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett took such satisfaction in calling Lee last week and telling the veteran linebacker he had been selected for the Pro Bowl as an alternate for the first time in his six-year career.
"I'll be honest, it made me emotional doing it," Garrett said. 'All the hard work that he went through to come back from the injury, the level he played at, the impact he had on our team, he's a really special guy."
Lee missed the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL suffered in OTAs. He returned in 2015 and started 14 games, the second most in his career, and tallied a team-high 156 tackles.[embeddedad0]
He will replace injured Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston in Hawaii.
"He's been that caliber of player throughout his career," Garrett said of Lee. "He's dealt with some injuries and some adversities that haven't allowed him to show that to everybody, and I think he showed that to everybody this year and he just should have a hell of a week out there and really soak it all up."
The Cowboys now have five representatives in Sunday's Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium: Lee, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Dan Bailey.
