Losing Sean Lee for the first few games of the season wasn’t a deal breaker for the Dallas Cowboys. Despite playing in all 16 games in 2019, the now-backup linebacker is oft injured and it should’ve surprised no one that he wasn’t ready to go for training camp or to start the season.
But when UDFA OT Terrence Steele made the 53-man roster, that was one of the shockers. The other shoe has dropped, as the Cowboys are carrying five tackles because one of the starters is getting ready to hit IR along with Lee. La’el Collins is not ready to go to start the season and will be on the list, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.
According to multiple sources, the Cowboys will place right tackle La’el Collins and linebacker Sean Lee on injured reserve Sunday. Since they were on the active roster Saturday, they will have to miss only the first three games. Collins has been… https://t.co/37cdmDxvOC
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 5, 2020
The Covid-19 season has it’s own set of rules and regulations, and the injured reserve list will have a major impact on roster compositioNFL teams can bring back as many players from IR as they want to this season, in an effort to ensure teams don’t get ravaged by a coronavirus outbreak. In addition, teams don’t have to wait the minimum eight weeks to bring back a player.
The caveat is the player must be on the opening roster to be IR’d remains, so the team will still have to risk cutting a player they intend to bring back to fill the void of another player they plan to place on the reserve list.
Collins was reportedly out of shape after the loss of the offseason and started training camp doing rehab work and not team drills. Those reports are now being refuted by his agent who says Collins had been dealing with a hip injury.
Later in camp, he was involved in a car accident that reportedly wasn’t to have lingering effects. He first returned to practice on August 27. He missed practice as recently as Thursday and this is the confirmation he is not healthy enough to start the year.
His backup, swing tackle Cam Erving has only recently begun practicing himself, and last year’s late-season call up Brandon Knight missed time at the beginning of camp as well. While Tyron Smith missed a few practices, he was healthy for most of it and is expected to be fine to start the opener.
Adding Steele to the roster was out of necessity as Dallas waived/injured Mitch Hyatt and Wyatt Miller, both of who are on IR for the year.
The move has domino impact.
Perhaps the Cowboys surprisingly carrying four tight ends on the initial roster (Blake Jarwin, Blake Bell, Dalton Schultz and rookie Sean McKeon) is because the team may end up forced to help out the right tackle on occasion for the first few weeks in trying to protect Dak Prescott. As high-flying as the Cowboys offense should be, perhaps the 11 and 20 personnel packages have to wait a few weeks before they can be regularly implemented if Dallas needs to run more 12 to keep a second tight end in to block.
Speaking of Prescott, he of the franchise tag; there has to be elevated concern for his well being with how things are shaking out to start the year along the line. Erving is a swing tackle whose performances have fluctuated throughout his career. Lining up next to Zack Martin will help, but it isn’t a magical elixir that will make him as good as Collins.
The Cowboys offense should be fine at the end of the day, but there are a lot more trepidation now that Collins will miss nearly the first 20% of the 2020 season.
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