FRISCO, Texas _ Rookie defensive end Charles Tapper's season likely is over before it began.
The Cowboys placed the fourth-round draft pick on injured reserve Wednesday. He will miss at least the next eight weeks if not the season while rehabbing a back injury.
The Cowboys signed offensive tackle Emmett Cleary to take Tapper's place on the roster.
"It's very disappointing, but it's a process," Tapper said. "It's been a roller coaster. I came here to play football and meet great guys. I've met a lot of great guys, got a lot of great teammates, but I still haven't got to do what I love and that's play football and be a true Cowboy. I still haven't played in AT&T Stadium and put on a jersey yet."
Tapper does not think this injury will affect his long-term football career, and said the doctors wouldn't allow him to play as he still felt pain in his back following his latest epidural shot.
Last week, Tapper had a setback in his recovery from a fractured bone in his back. He has not practiced since the second week of training camp when he was diagnosed with a Pars Defect in his back, a stress fracture in the pars interarticularis of the lower lumbar vertebrae (L5).
It's a fracture that he has had since childhood, but was not known until it was diagnosed in training camp.
He thought he was close to returning in Week 2 when he was running and cutting, but a setback led to another epidural shot.
Tapper admitted being frustrated, almost to the point of tears, while watching his teammates play without him.
The Cowboys selected the former Oklahoma star in the fourth round in hopes of providing some juice to the pass rush. They have only four sacks this season.
