Former UT Lineman’s Pro Dream Derailed by Injury

OXNARD, Calif. — Former University of Texas defensive tackle Chris Whaley’s 2015 season is over before it started after he tore his Achilles tendon Tuesday in the team’s training camp practice in Oxnard, Calif., and was subsequently waive/injured. The team announced that Whaley, who suffered the injury while taking part in one-on-one drills, was flown back to Dallas, where he is expected to undergo surgery.

To replace Whaley on the roster, the Cowboys signed cornerback Brandon Smith, who played a couple of games in 2013 for the Buffalo Bills, and has had stints on the practice squads of the Bills, Green Bay Packers and New York Jets. (Continue reading below...)

(...Continued from above.) If Whaley misses the entire season, it will be his second time in two professional seasons, after sitting out last season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) he suffered during his final season at Texas. Whaley spent the 2014 season the Cowboys’ non-football injury list.

Whether Whaley would have made the team’s final 53-man roster is, of course, unknown, but he was having a good start to camp while vying for a spot in defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s system.