FRISCO, Texas – After battling a back injury for the past few weeks, Chaz Green is undergoing surgery on the problem.
"We anticipate Chaz having surgery later today and not being available to us going forward," said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett on Friday.
Green is undergoing surgery on a herniated disc in his back and will be moved to the injured reserve for the remaining three weeks of the season. It's a tough setback for the second-year offensive tackle, who hasn't appeared in a game since Oct. 2.
In that win against San Francisco, Green suffered a sprained foot that held him out of action for several weeks. While he was working his way back into practice, he developed the back issue – which has landed him on the injury report for a different reason the past several weeks.
This marks the second-straight season that Green has had marred by injury. After being selected 91st overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, he missed his entire rookie season after undergoing surgery on his hip in the offseason. He practiced at the tail end of the season but never appeared in a game.
"We're excited about what we've seen, but you're right. Over the last couple of years, he's been hurt a lot – and availability is important," Garrett said. "But he's a very conscientious guy, he's a very hard-working guy."
Moving Green to the injured reserve would open up a roster spot, which Garrett said would likely be filled by a practice squad player. With both DeMarcus Lawrence and Cedric Thornton battling injuries, the Cowboys could possibly turn to Zach Moore – who they signed to the practice squad after final roster cuts in September.
Meanwhile, Green will move forward into his third season in Dallas with just four career appearances under his belt. He started against Chicago and San Francisco while Tyron Smith was injured this season and handled himself well. But the Cowboys would undoubtedly like to see a larger sample size in determining if he'll assume a starting role in the future.
"It's not because he's not dedicated and conscientious – he's all of that and more," Garrett said. "Hopefully this can get behind him, and we'll do this surgery with him and he'll get back to work. He's got a bright future, there's no doubt in our minds about that. Any time he has played, he's certainly done a nice job for us for a young player."
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