Today has been a heavy day for Dallas Cowboys injury news. QB Dak Prescott is medically cleared to play, something he confirms. As well as the timetables for OT Tyron Smith and WR James Washington could be any day now.

Unfortunately, in life, any time there's good news, it's usually followed up with some kind of bad news. The same goes for the Cowboys roster.

First reported by Dallas Cowboys reporter Todd Archer, rookie offensive tackle Matt Waletzko suffered a setback to his already hurt shoulder. His re-injury will require surgery, ending his 2022 rookie campaign.

Matt Waletzko is likely to need surgery that would end his season after re-injuring his shoulder in Thursday’s practice, according to multiple sources. He suffered a similar injury in training camp that knocked him out for a few weeks.

— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 20, 2022

While Waletzko and the Cowboys have been hopeful he wouldn't need surgery until the end of the year, his re-aggravation is too much to avoid at this time.

With Waletzko done for the year, it is yet undetermined if the Cowboys seek an elevation or outside help to fill the void.

At the moment, Tyler Smith and Terence Steele are the team's starting tackles, with Josh Ball as the swing tackle. As well as Jason Peters, who is primarily positioned as a guard at the moment.

It's an unfortunate setback for the rookie OT. In training camp and preseason, he often outplayed Ball as the preferred swing tackle option. Primarily on the left side.

While he did have his struggles, the length and athleticism continued to be displayed, up until the end of the preseason when he first occurred the injury.

Now that Waletzko is sidelined for the remainder of the year, it opens up a roster spot on the Cowboys. Potentially for the return of James Washington, or possibility the arrival of rookie LB Damone Clark.

Damone Clark "looks really good" – per MM – and will get another padded practice on Thursday.

He'll likely start as a special teams guy (expectedly).

Clark's 21-day window is nearing its end and he's trending toward activation.

— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) October 19, 2022

The Dallas Cowboys love Waletzko's long-term potential, but will have to wait until next off-season before they can see him on the field again.

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

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