OXNARD, Calif. – Cowboys guard Nate Livings is scheduled to get his knee scoped, which could put him in jeopardy to miss the first regular season game against the Giants.
Livings has already had surgery on that knee, which gave him problems last year. A typical knee scope keeps a player out from two to four weeks. If he's out any longer than that, he may not be ready for the Sept. 8 opener.
Injuries have held Livings and many of the guards back since last year. Each of last season's starting guards, Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau, haven't practiced for the majority of camp.
Livings hasn't been healthy for much of this year, dealing with knee pain and a cut on his foot, which kept him out of the early portion of training camp. The knee pain evidently came back, as he missed Thursday's practice because of the sore knee. Ronald Leary took snaps with the first team at left guard in his place.
Bernadeau injured his hamstring during the initial conditioning test in Oxnard, Calif., and has been out since. The entire offensive line has been hampered by injuries this camp, but particularly the guards.
Guard Kevin Kowalski left practice earlier this week after injuring his leg. Guard Ray Dominguez has been working only on the side after hurting his shoulder. Center/guard Ryan Cook's back injury has forced him to work out only off to the side at practice, as well.
The Cowboys brought in two offensive linemen reinforcements yesterday in guard Jeff Olson and tackle James Nelson, and Olson already left practice with concussion-like symptoms.
Other absences on the offensive line include tackle Jermey Parnell, who's out with a hamstring injury, and tackle Demetress Bell, who failed his conditioning test. [embedded_ad]
Livings signed a five-year, $18.7 million deal, with $6.2 million guaranteed when he joined the Cowboys before the start of the 2012 season. His base salary is at its lowest this season at $815,000, and his cap hit is $1.73 million.
