Fans of NFL teams spend an inordinate amount of time contemplating the what ifs. Most recently, fans of the Dallas Cowboys have fired up their synapses in trying to figure out exactly how the club will be able to add the litany of players who have missed games over the first half of the season back to the 53-man roster. Having depth is a beautiful thing and it has certainly served the 6-1 Cowboys well in 2021.
However there’s one true edict when it comes to football, things have a way of working themselves out. There’s no sense in trying to figure out which players may end up released to make room for guys coming off of IR or PUP weeks in advance because by the time the situation calls for it, there’s bound to be a solution presented. A similar occurrence is taking place now, as fans have wondered since La’el Collins return from a five-game suspension, what would happen at right tackle with Terence Steele playing so well. It took just one game, one half really, for the solution to present itself.
That happened with the high ankle sprain aggravation of left tackle Tyron Smith. He’ll miss at least the Week 9 game against the Denver Broncos and with that, the only decision that needed to be made was which of the other two starting-caliber tackles would play on the left side. The answer, according to quarterback Dak Prescott, is that Steele will move over from the right side and land on the left.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said Terence Steele is playing left tackle and Lael Collins is playing right tackle on Sunday #DallasCowboys
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) November 4, 2021
Both Steele and Collins have experience playing left tackle, but Steele’s is much more recent. Steele is the team’s swing tackle, which means that he practices on both the left and the right side during training camp, to be able to fill in wherever is necessary. He’s manned the right side almost exclusively in games, playing 969 of 970 snaps there in 2020 and all 436 in 2021.
Meanwhile, though he played on the left side the first two years of his career, those snaps came on the interior as a guard. Collins hasn’t had any experience at left tackle since his days at LSU, last seen in 2014. Steele played on both sides at Texas Tech from 2016 through 2020, though in his later years played more on the right than left.
Collins saw snaps as a fullback this past Sunday in his return from the ban, but will be back in the starting lineup for the first time since Week 1 this Sunday against the Broncos.
The decision challenges Mike McCarthy’s lip service of trying to maintain continuity at all costs in the group, something he spouted last week as the reason why Collins wasn’t returning to the starting lineup immediately. Most people feel the organization’s frustration with Collins coming to 2020 camp out of shape before missing the season followed by his suspension going from two to five games thanks to his appeal was the reason he wasn’t back in the lineup.
But things tend to work themselves out and now without Smith the Cowboys are forced to bring Collins back inside from the organizational doghouse.
He might have been there if Ty Nsekhe hadn’t failed miserably as the in-game replacement for Smith. Nsekhe will serve as the swing backup for Week 9.
Steele has performed very well, as Pro Football Focus ranks him the ninth-best tackle in blocking grades for those who have over 250 snaps on the season. For reference purposes, Smith is ranked second.
When expanded to players who have lined up for at least one full game, Smith is third, Steele drops to 12th and Collins fits in the middle at No. 6.
But Steele has played with the benefit of lining up next to All-Pro Zack Martin for the entirety of the season. Him pairing with left guard Connor Williams will be an entirely different animal and it will be another test of offensive line coach Joe Philbin who has done a remarkable job in developing Steele from where he was as an undrafted rookie thrust into a starting role after Collins’ hip injury wiped out the campaign.
Playing the Broncos may be the perfect opportunity for the transition. PFF ranks Denver 20th overall in defensive grade, 23rd in pass rush and this was before they traded away Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams. Miller had missed time with injury, but the eight-time Pro Bowler would have been available to challenge the bookends if he wasn’t shipped to the NFC.
Dallas may have to deal with that come playoff time, and hopefully Smith will be back for those potentially epic matchups. For now, they’ll work on their trade in the Week 9 regular season matchup as Collins and Steele reacclimatize themselves.
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