Fans of the Dallas Cowboys have been burned before when it comes to the team underselling injuries. The amount of times that a hurt player’s prognosis was considered “day to day” only for it to turn into a prolonged situation are too numerous to recount.
One of the most recent examples involved La’el Collins who had an issue heading into training camp in 2020. What began as a conditioning issue actually saw him return to the field on August 28, 2020 for work in team drills. He played zero regular season games and underwent surgery for his hip in early October. So when he pulled himself out of practice Wednesday with a neck injury, the Cowboys collective held their breath.
It might be time to exhale, as head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters during Friday morning’s session that Collins is expected to practice as well as play in Saturday’s annual preseason tilt with the Houston Texans.
La’el Collins is expected to practice today after exiting Wednesday’s practice early. Mike McCarthy anticipates that he’ll get some snaps tomorrow night.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) August 20, 2021
Other tidbits include McCarthy’s belief that the defense is ahead of the offense and the starters on that side of the ball will likely go the entire first half. That group will not include DeMarcus Lawrence who is still working his way back into the fold from offseason back surgery.