OXNARD, Calif.– Sean Lee is as serious-minded as Cowboys players come, but he had to smile when he was asked if his recent knee scope could be viewed as a positive.
"I never want to say surgery is a good thing, but I think it was good in the sense that it's going to help my knee in the future," he said.
Lee was a limited participant throughout the Cowboys' offseason program, as he rehabbed his knee after a minor arthroscopic procedure in his knee. It might have held him out of OTAs and minicamp, but the hope is that the scope will keep it from becoming a trouble spot during the grind of the season.
"I think I had some stuff going on from that ACL that maybe didn't allow me to practice as much as I wanted to last year," he said. "Hopefully this will allow me to practice more, but also at the same point – tempo more in the offseason so I can really focus on this time of year."
The Cowboys will undoubtedly be sure to monitor the progress of their star linebacker. Lee earned a Pro Bowl berth for his efforts in 2015, but he still didn't play a full 16-game season – which is one of his primary goals heading into this year.
To that end, he said the knee is ready for the approaching season.
"My knee is ready to go, 100 percent – it felt great today," he said.
With that part confirmed, the question returns to the personnel available on the Dallas defense. With Rolando McClain missing from camp – and set to serve a 10-game suspension – there's been plenty of speculation that Lee might move back to his old position at middle linebacker.
For the time being, though, Lee said he expects to maintain his spot on the weak side, where he racked up 128 tackles, an interception and 2.5 sacks as one of the few bright spots for the Cowboys' defense.
"I think there's a lot made out of it, but I think they're pretty similar positions," he said. "I've played both, but right now they have me at the Will and I think I'll stay there, because we have guys who can play that Mike position."
Anthony Hitchens and Andrew Gachkar were the primary middle linebackers during practices on Saturday. Justin Durant, Damien Wilson and Mark Nzeocha are all also expected to get a look at the position, as well.
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