The Dallas Cowboys have lost a significant piece of their defense to a season-ending injury.

Stephen Jones, the team’s executive vice president, told reporters Monday that defensive tackle Gerald McCoy will miss the entire 2020 season due to a ruptured right quad tendon. McCoy was injured Monday during individual drills of the first padded practice of training camp.

Initial reports came out that the team feared McCoy had suffered a knee injury, but an MRI revealed the quad rupture.

Dallas signed McCoy to a three-year, $18 million deal during free agency in an effort to shore up its defensive line. McCoy earned six Pro Bowl nods during his nine-year tenure in Tampa Bay and was coming off a year with the Carolina Panthers where he put up 37 tackles, seven tackles for loss and five sacks.

McCoy was slated to fill the void left behind by Maliek Collins, who left Dallas for the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. McCoy has been a very durable option over the course of his 10-year pro career, only once playing fewer than 13 games in a season.

In addition to McCoy, Dallas also brought in Dontari Poe, Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen as free agents. Poe is dealing with his own quad injury and started training camp on the reserve/PUP list. Griffen, a recent signee, has yet to practice after clearing the NFL’s COVID-19 testing protocols. Smith, a one-time All-Pro, has not played since 2015 due to an array of off-field issues.

With McCoy and Poe unavailable, Jones said the Cowboys will turn to second-year pro Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore, a third-round pick out of Oklahoma, on the interior of their defensive line.

Other injuries on first day of pads

During this atypical offseason caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there has been less of a lead-up — minicamps and OTAs, specifically — to full-padded practices for NFL teams. Because of that, some wondered if we would see a spate of injuries in camp.

So far, there have been quite a few. In addition to McCoy, two other notable players — Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green and San Francisco 49ers WR Jalen Hurd — are reportedly dealing with injuries. Hurd’s injury is seemingly far more serious. According to NFL Network, the second-year pro may have suffered a torn ACL.

The former Baylor standout, a third-round pick, missed all of 2019 due to a back injury. It’s a tough blow for the 49ers, who are also missing Deebo Samuel due to a leg injury.

For Green, it’s a reported hamstring issue. The Pro Bowler missed all of 2019 due to injury, but his shortened Monday practice was apparently the team wanting to be cautious with Green.

Defensive lineman Renell Wren had to be carted off the field on Monday. His prognosis is unclear.

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