OXNARD, Calif. -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick will miss the entire 2015 season after tearing both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, Scandrick told ESPN via text message Tuesday night.
He will undergo surgery Thursday or Friday after an MRI exam revealed Scandrick had torn the two ligaments in practice at training camp Tuesday, an injury that will leave the Cowboys with a gaping hole in their secondary.
The 28-year old Scandrick said in another text to ESPN: "I'll be back, and I'll be better than ever."
Scandrick's knee buckled as he broke on a pass intended for rookie receiver Lucky Whitehead, whose momentum carried him into the cornerback, who was already going to the ground. Scandrick needed to be carted off the field.
"He said immediately, 'It's my ACL. I know it. It's gone,'" secondary coach Jerome Henderson said after practice.
Safety Barry Church immediately called for the athletic training staff, and practice was briefly delayed as they attended to Scandrick. He remained on the ground, screaming and covering his face as he was put on a cart and taken to the locker room.
Whitehead said he bent down when he thought Scandrick was going to hit him as the receiver came out of a route.
"I kind of felt it,'' Whitehead said. "I heard him make a noise.''
Quarterback Tony Romo was among several Cowboys who offered best wishes to Scandrick via Twitter before the diagnosis was official.
Sending prayers out to Orlando Scandrick...Fear he has a torn acl. Your the best bud.
— Tony Romo (@tonyromo) August 26, 2015Scandrick started practice with his first interception of training camp, coming down with a Romo pass intended for Terrance Williams. His start to training camp was slowed by a sore left knee that needed to be drained, but last week he said he finally felt back to 100 percent. He blamed the soreness on missing the early part of the offseason program while looking to get a reworked contract. The Cowboys signed him to a one-year extension that included a $3 million signing bonus.
He played 12 snaps in Sunday's preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
After practice, the Cowboys' defensive backs knelt in prayer for a moment. Church and safety J.J. Wilcox did not want to comment after practice. Morris Claiborne, who suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in Week 4 last season, knew what Scandrick was feeling.
"You can feel when your knee is not functioning right," Claiborne said. "I heard it in his voice because I've been there. I know that feeling. I actually felt myself go back to then after just sitting there looking at him, holding his hand. He's squeezing; I know that feeling."
In light of the season-ending injury to Scandrick, second-year cornerback Tyler Patmon likely will take over in the slot. Free-agent pickup Corey White also could see time there as well.
Information from ESPN's Ed Werder and The Associated Press contributed to this report.