Tag: Conor Williams

Looney Tunes: Earning starting nod again for Cowboys will be music to big man’s ears

When it comes to the 2020 Dallas Cowboys offensive line, Looney’s experience may key factor in open competition.

Joe Looney finds himself in a similar situation to the one he endured  in 2018. The unexpected loss of Travis Frederick has thrust him into the spotlight as the projected starting center for the 2020 Dallas Cowboys.

Entering his ninth season, Looney enters his fifth campaign with Dallas after re-signing in the offseason. If he earns the starting nod, it will be just the second time in his career he’s done so.

Looney was signed with the club in 2016 as a free agent. He started one game as an offensive lineman, the final Week 17 contest when the club was resting starters. He was a regular on the field, though, as he was often used as the sixth lineman, appearing in 11 other games in this capacity. That role continued in 2017, but despite not getting much on-field time, Looney was a huge factor in the locker room.

Literally, huge.

In 2018 his opportunity finally came in.

When Frederick announced he was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré Syndrome, it immediately ended any chance of him resuming his role as the starting center. Looney, having a few years of experience under his belt, was thrown into the starter’s role rather abruptly during the preseason. He started all 16 games for the Cowboys that year. For Dallas, it was a year surrounded by a lot of hype as they finished 10-6 after missing the playoffs the previous year.

 

Looney appeared as the starting center in their playoff win against the Seattle Seahawks that season, but the Cowboys found themselves on the losing end in the following round to the Los Angeles Rams.

The following year, Frederick made a triumphant return to the starting lineup, putting Looney back on the sidelines and limiting him to just one start, again in Week 17.

With the Cowboys having an amazing amount of roster turnover, and with them having an idea of Frederick’s plans they wisely rewarded Looney with a new one-year contract for 2020. The Cowboys were thought by some to suddenly have huge shoes to fill on their offensive line, but if Joe Looney didn’t have issues shining in this role in 2018, why couldn’t he do it again?

While all signs point to Joe Looney being the Cowboys starting center in 2020, he does have some younger players behind him on the current depth chart. It’s possible one or more could give him a run for his money and be named starter before opening night.

The left guard position could be a battle between the two Connors, third year man Connor Williams and Connor McGovern (coming back after his 2019 rookie stint was spent on injured reserved). Believe it or not, both names have been brought up to compete with Looney, as they both can shift over and play center. The Cowboys made a splash in the 2020 NFL Draft when they traded into the fourth round to select Wisconsin center Tyler Biadiasz. Of course, questions were raised surrounding the wisdom of inserting Biadiasz into the team’s starting lineup in his rookie year.

 

Left tackle Tyron Smith, right guard Zack Martin, and right tackle La’el Collins seem to have their positions solidified on the offensive line. Looney has the experience factor when entering the 2020 Dallas Cowboys training camp. He has more than proven he has the talent, skill, and size to be the starting center for the Cowboys this year. The youth behind him on the depth chart has plenty of potential and can serve as motivation for Looney, but when it comes to starting a new regime with a new head coach and staff, experience sometimes outweighs everything. Expect Looney to be the one snapping the ball to franchise quarterback Dak Prescott when the season kicks off in September.

This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. Up next is RT La’el Collins.

| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
| Neville Gallimore | Terence Steele |

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