Cowboys lose Tyrone Crawford to torn Achilles

The Dallas Cowboys announced on Sunday that they have placed eight players, including newly-signed offensive tackle Demetress Bell, on either the "Active/Non-Football Injury" or "Active/Physically Unable to Perform" lists. The Cowboys will soon be placing a player on injured reserve as second-year defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas reports.

According to Watkins, the injury occurred during a non-contact drill.

Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram adds that Crawford was performing a slalom drill against tackling dummies when he went down and immediately yelled "Achilles".

The Cowboys selected Crawford in the third-round of the 2012 NFL draft. In 16 games as a rookie, Crawford played in in 28.77 percent of the defensive snaps and over 40 percent of the Cowboys' special teams plays, totaling 20 tackles, all on defense. Crawford was expected to play a larger role on defense this season.

After practice, veteran defensive end Jason Hatcher, who was not aware of the diagnosis, likened the injury to the same one that former Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis suffered during the 2006 season.

"It looked pretty bad. I don’t want to lie," Hatcher said. "I’ve seen that before. Greg Ellis, I’ve seen him go down the same way. Hopefully it’s just a strained calf and not an Achilles."