IRVING, Texas – The quieter the Cowboys are about DeVonte Holloman's neck injury, the more ominous it seems.
Any neck injury to Holloman is cause for concern, considering the linebacker was inactive for seven games last season with what was described as a spinal contusion. Holloman left Saturday's preseason game with a neck injury, slamming his fist into the ground with frustration and walking gingerly off the field.
"He's still getting evaluated on that, but it is a neck injury," said head coach Jason Garrett. "He had a neck injury last year, so we'll just monitor him after he gets the feedback from the doctors. We're obviously looking at that situation very closely."
There were a few injuries in Saturday's preseason game at AT&T Stadium against the Ravens, but Holloman's injury was by far the most concerning.
Holloman managed to return from last year's neck injury before the season ended, starting the final two games of the regular season at middle linebacker. But if this injury is a recurrence of the same issue he had last year, his long-term availability has to be in question.
While he's still waiting to see the linebacker's status after going through tests. Garrett didn't exactly provide ease or comfort when asked if there's any worry it could be a career-threatening type of neck injury for Holloman. [embedded_ad]
"We've just got to see what the doctors say," Garrett said. "Simple as that."
Holloman was viewed by many as a legitimate starting contender entering training camp this year, but he didn't end up working with the first-team group. The strong-side linebacker reps went mostly to Kyle Wilber, while Justin Durant served as the starting middle linebacker.
That came as a surprise to some who watched Holloman compile 11 combined tackles and two sacks in the regular season finale while filling in at middle linebacker.
