IRVING, Texas - The off-season of Isaiah Stanback has not gotten off on the right foot. Or the right knee, either.
The wide receiver underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a lateral meniscus tear in the knee, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones announced.
Jones, speaking at the new stadium in Arlington where the Cowboys lit up the 600-ton video board for the first time, did say Stanback should be ready for the start of training camp, which begins July 28 in San Antonio.
"I'm sorry for him but glad he's got the time," Jones said, referring to the 10 weeks until the start of training camp. "Now I wish he had the time. He's so competitive, but he'll get back."
Stanback, who came to the Cowboys in 2007 with a Lis Franc foot injury that kept him out the entire off-season and most of training camp as a rookie, has since battled constant shoulder injuries. Stanback had surgery on his left shoulder at the end of both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He had to play last year with a harness on his left shoulder before surgery at the end of the season.
The latest injury apparently occurred during Tuesday's practice as the Cowboys begin OTA workouts at Carrollton's Standridge Stadium. The Cowboys are forced to practice at the nearby high school stadium because of the accident that occurred at the team facility on May 2 that not only destroyed the tension structure, but damaged the other two grass practice fields.
Stanback was expected to compete for a backup receiver spot, along with Miles Austin and Sam Hurd.
All off-season Jones has reiterated that the Cowboys plan on having a full evaluation of the younger receivers with no real intentions of signing a veteran. That was also evident by the draft last month when the Cowboys waited until the seventh round to select Manuel Johnson and to sign three rookie free-agent receivers. Before the draft, Jones hinted that adding any receiver, either through the draft or free agency, could limit the number of practice reps for players like Austin and Stanback.
In two seasons, Stanback has played in just 10 games and has only two receptions.
A fourth-round pick in 2007, Stanback is still making the adjustment from a college quarterback at the University of Washington to a full-time receiver and kick returner. He has 13 career kick returns, including 10 last season, for 218 yards (21.8 yard average).
There had been some talk that Stanback might be the Cowboys' best option for the Wildcat offense, considering his athleticism and experience at quarterback and the shotgun. Stanback said the Cowboys used him in that role for one week of practice but a last-second lineup change forced him to be inactive for that game and they never ran those plays the rest of the season.
"Last year, we did it a few times in practice," Stanback said in an interview back in March. "It was part of the game plan one week. But then they decided not to dress me. And we never really worked on it again. That's how it goes. But it was something we had in practice, and I was the guy doing it. Maybe we can do it again, who knows. I wouldn't mind doing it at all. I think it'd be fun and I think I could do it."
But Stanback obviously has to get healthy again. Something that is seemingly easier said than done.
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