OXNARD, Calif. -- The injuries to the interior of the offensive line opened the door for Ronald Leary to get first-team snaps Wednesday.

Nate Livings suffered a hyperextended knee during the first padded practice of training camp. The Cowboys have lost four offensive linemen to injuries: Kevin Kowalski, Bill Nagy, Mackenzy Bernadeau and now Livings. All play the interior of the offensive line.

The Livings injury doesn't appear serious and there is a hope Bernadeau will get released from the physically unable to perform list soon to start practicing.

This is where Leary comes in.

The stock of Leary, an undrafted free agent from Memphis, fell to projected sixth or seventh rounder because of concerns regarding his knee. Leary suffers from osteochondritis dissecans in his left knee. It's a joint condition in which a piece of cartilage, along with a thin layer of the bone beneath it, comes loose.

"I did think I was going to get drafted but after the combine and closer to the draft, I realized the issue they were saying about my knee, I knew it wasn't going to end good but gratefully I got picked up by the Dallas Cowboys," Leary said. "I knew they were interested because I had a private workout with them and I made a visit to Valley Ranch."

So far in training camp, Leary has performed fairly well but still needs work on his techniques.

"I have a lot of room to improve," Leary said. "It's NFL, it's different from college, I'm just trying to learn and talk to the vets and learn every day and get a little bit better and just try and improve everyday."