Cowboys rookie Matt Johnson said he felt his hamstring go on the first play, didn't want to believe it

Rookie safety Matt Johnson said he felt a hamstring problem on the first play he was in during Saturday night’s preseason game against the St. Louis Rams.

“I kind of thought to myself, ‘That’s not a hamstring.’ I just didn’t want to believe it,” he said. “But it kept getting worse. So I told one of the trainers.”

For Johnson, a fourth-round pick that the Cowboys were hoping could compete for a starting position, it was an extreme disappointment. He had spent all but a week of training camp rehabbing from a hamstring injury in his other leg, and he had been able to go through his first full practices in pads last week in San Diego.

Now, his future is uncertain. He almost certainly won’t play in the final preseason game on Wednesday.

“I try to believe that everything happens for a reason, but it’s kind of hard to see why it keeps happening,” he said. “Trying to do everything right rehab-wise, diet-wise, strengthening it. And then the other one happens. So we’ll just get on top of it, try to get it healthy as soon as I can.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez