The Cowboys announced that they have placed defensive end Charles Tapper on injured reserve with a back injury. The move will make room for the addition of offensive tackle Emmett Cleary.
Tapper was a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and Dallas hoped that he would make an immediate impact while second-round Jaylon Smith would be sidelined for 2016. Unfortunately, Tapper was diagnosed with Pars Defect, an issue that had gone undetected since birth. He hoped that he could play through the pain in his lumbar spine with an injection, but it apparently wasn’t enough. Tapper will now be out for at least the next eight weeks and possibly for the entire season.
Tapper appeared in 39 games with Oklahoma in three seasons and piled up 13.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss.
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