Matt Waletzko has been on the field for exactly one snap with the Cowboys offense as a rookie.
At least the play was a big one; it will likely be Waletzko’s only offensive snap of the season.
Both the team and the rookie tackle have known he would need surgery to repair a recurring shoulder issue. He had hoped it would wait until the offseason, but on Thursday, the 6-foot-8-inch lineman’s luck ran out.
Waletzko suffered a sublaxation- his third in a year- during practice and is expected to miss the rest of the 2022 campaign, as per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
The fifth-round draft pick first suffered the injury to his left shoulder during his senior year at North Dakota and missed the final game of the 2021 college season. He was able, though, to play in the Senior Bowl and participate at the scouting combine.
But in just the Cowboys’ second practice in late July, the injury resurfaced during a drill. He was escorted off the field by trainers and missed most of the rest of training camp.
The 22-year-old finally made his Dallas debut in the team’s third preseason game against Seattle. He played five special teams snaps in Weeks 1 and 2 combined, and then six more against the Giants in Week 3, when he also was put in as a sixth blocking lineman for one play alongside fellow rookie Tyler Smith.
Waletzko and the beefed-up Cowboys line helped spring Ezekiel Elliott for a 1-yard touchdown run in the 23-16 primetime win.
A sublaxation- defined as a partial dislocation- becomes more common the more it happens. While Waletzko was able to strengthen the joint twice before to return to playing shape, he increased the likelihood of re-injuring the shoulder each time.
The Cowboys have decided that three times is enough, and that surgery that was always going to be needed just got moved up the to-do list.
[listicle id=704260]
[listicle id=704098]
[lawrence-newsletter]