Tag: La’el Collins

Practice report: Collins, Prescott, Goodwin, Wilson among Cowboys’ full participants

Dallas saw several key players participate fully in what coach Mike McCarthy dubbed the team’s “heaviest workload” before the season opener. | From @ToddBrock24f7

“Today is huge for us,” said Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on Monday morning, in advance of the day’s practice session. With Dallas slated to kick off the 2021 season Thursday night, McCarthy and the team are several days ahead of their typical weekly workflow. That made the Labor Day practice a significant one, especially following the news that All-Pro right guard Zack Martin had tested positive for COVID over the weekend and would almost assuredly miss the season opener versus the Buccaneers.

But Monday’s practice- which McCarthy referred to as “our heaviest workload of the whole preparation” for Thursday’s game in Tampa- brought huge news indeed for several Cowboys players who are making their way back to game readiness.

Offensive tackle La’el Collins was a full participant on the day, as were quarterback Dak Prescott, cornerback C.J. Goodwin, edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, and safety Donovan Wilson.

Defensive end Chauncey Golston was at first listed as a full participant; the club later released a correction reclassifying the Iowa product as “limited.” Offensive lineman Ty Nsekhe was also limited in the day’s work.

Collins missed all of last season with hip issues and then was forced out of two separate practices in recent weeks with a neck stinger. His return to form will help an offensive line that will have its hands full Thursday, minus their best player and going against the defending Super Bowl champs, who just activated Ndamukong Suh off their Reserve/COVID list.

Wilson was pulled from practice on August 25th with a groin injury, and will be important to a defensive back rotation aiming to shut down Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Tom Brady’s cast of lethal pass-catchers.

Prescott, of course, is coming off last season’s horrific ankle injury and a muscle strain in his throwing shoulder that kept him out of preseason action entirely and limited for much of camp. It is no understatement to suggest that, as Prescott goes, so go the Cowboys.

Recovery from back surgery caused Lawrence to miss all of the team’s spring work and most of training camp. He was on the PUP list until August 3rd. He, too, was held out of preseason games and is eager to return to live action.

Special teams ace Goodwin missed four weeks with a bad hamstring and returned to practice just last Thursday.

Golston remains a mystery to anyone not inside the Cowboys’ facility. The rookie was selected in the third round of the draft, but started training camp on the PUP list with a hamstring malady.

Nsekhe has been bothered by a foot issue. His availability in Tampa will be important, given the focus on the offensive line and questions about whether the starters will be able to remain healthy.

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News: COVID comeback hits Cowboys, threatens schedule; punter re-signed

Zack Martin is out amid growing concern that COVID will have a serious impact on the 2021 season; Tampa Bay prep, La’el Collins returns. | From @ToddBrock24f7

During a weekend when college football stadiums were back to maximum capacity for the first time in nearly two years, the ongoing COVID pandemic is suddenly the main story in the NFL just four days before opening night of its season. Connor Williams comes off the watchlist for Dallas just as Zack Martin tests positive for the virus and CeeDee Lamb talks about the symptoms he experienced. Tom Brady reveals he had the virus and believes it will affect the NFL even more this year than last. The fans will be back in full force around the league… but will there be a full 272 games played this year? It suddenly feels iffy.

Also in the news, La’el Collins returns from his neck stinger just in time for Tampa, two of the Cowboys’ biggest stars are eager to finally be unleashed against the Bucs, and the team is still tinkering with the roster by officially re-signing their punter. Uniform news: another batch of new jersey numbers for several Cowboys, and could today’s traditional football helmets be replaced by soft shells in an effort to improve player safety? Plus, get to know the Cowboys’ defensive backs with a new batch of player profiles. That’s all ahead in the News and Notes.

La’el Collins, Connor Williams back at Cowboys practice as O-line shuffle continues

The return of two offensive linemen comes at a key moment, just as Dallas loses All-Pro Zack Martin for the Week 1 opener versus Tampa Bay. | From @ToddBrock24f7

One of the few things Cowboys fans were able to count on in 2020 was not being able to count on knowing who would play where along the offensive line. The team went through 15 unique combinations up front before the Thanksgiving Day game even kicked off.

Getting the front five back was one of the major storylines in Dallas this offseason, but now there’s already a script change as Zack Martin’s positive COVID test almost certainly takes him out of the season opener in Tampa. But the team did get some good news on the O-line, as La’el Collins and Connor Williams returned to practice on Sunday.

Collins, of course, missed the entire 2020 season with surgery meant to correct a nagging hip issue. Supposedly back in full force this year and looking noticeably leaner after a grueling rehab, the 28-year-old tackle talked openly about having plenty “left in the tank” for the upcoming campaign.

But the LSU product left practice early on August 18th with a neck stinger. He came back the following day and even played in the preseason loss to Houston two days after that. Another neck stinger on August 27th, though, forced him off the practice field once again.

As recently as Friday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was using terms like “holding pattern” in describing Collins’s playing status. But his return to practice just 96 hours before a visit to the defending Super Bowl champs bodes well for his chances to hold down the fort at right tackle.

Connor Williams rejoins the team, too, having just been activated off the Reserve/COVID list, where he had been since testing positive for the virus August 25th.

The other Connor, guard Connor McGovern, will likely draw the straw of stepping into Martin’s spot Thursday night against the likes of Buccaneers defensive linemen Vita Vea and Ndamakong Suh.

“We will continue to work the combinations, but Connor McGovern will take the majority of the reps at right guard,” McCarthy said regarding the team’s Sunday practice session.

Working the combinations. Expect the Cowboys to fall into a very well-practiced routine of shuffling players along the line in the days leading up to Thursday’s game and perhaps even moving puzzle pieces around during the Week 1 contest.

“I mean, this is the climate that we’re in,” McCarthy said recently as the COVID numbers in the Dallas locker room climbed. “The great thing is we have experience at it.”

That, they do.

The Cowboys had hoped, though, that they wouldn’t have to fall back on that experience for the very first game of the season.

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Cowboys News: Rebirth for Jaylon and Leighton? Is McCarthy’s seat already hot?

Don’t give up on the LB duo that took Dallas by storm in 2018, concern for La’el Collins, and the clock’s already ticking for McCarthy. | From @StarConscience and @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys fans who have already mentally ceded the team’s top two linebacker spots to Micah Parsons and Keanu Neal aren’t alone in their optimism for the newcomers. But don’t give up completely on Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch quite yet. There’s statistical evidence that says- based on their years- their best days may be yet to come.

And after a bad-luck debut season, head coach Mike McCarthy likely deserves a do-over. But since he won’t get one, it’s fair to ask if he’s already on the hot seat as he oversees a talented team with superstars in their prime. Lots of looking ahead to Tampa, with Dak Prescott ready to rock and roll, Tyron Smith ditching his neck roll, and a rookie defender hoping to get on a roll against the Bucs. There’s concern about La’el Collins’s status for opening night, Week 1 uniform news, details on a Cowboys watch party, and a top-dollar subplot to the Prescott-versus-Brady matchup. All that and more, in News and Notes.

Cowboys tackle La’el Collins still not ready to practice, dealing with stinger

An injury update on Dallas Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins. | From @NoHuddle

The Dallas Cowboys are only six days away from the NFL’s opener where they’ll take on the defending Super Bowl champions in the form of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There’s still hope the underdog Cowboys will have their full complement of players at their disposal but it’s beginning to wane.

Right tackle La’el Collins has been dealing with a neck stinger that forced him out of practice a week ago that seemed innocuous at first glance, but may be more serious than originally thought. Head coach Mike McCarthy and company are at the least putting in a contingency plan in case he’s unavailable Thursday night.

“A holding pattern” is never what fans want to hear and it isn’t necessarily an overreaction to believe Collins won’t be ready in time for kickoff. He also isn’t a stranger to Dallas’s history of slow-playing injuries either. Last season the word was that he was dealing with conditioning issues as the reason for his unavailability. That eventually morphed into a season-ending hip injury that was the cherry on top of the garbage-flavored sundae the team’s offensive line experienced in 2020.

If called upon, the backups’ task isn’t a small one. They’ll be forced into action against a fearsome front featuring Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka who are all capable of putting quarterbacks in the dirt. On the bright side, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has the green light with McCarthy saying only, “He’s full-go.”

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Cowboys News: La’el Collins update, substitute coordinators for Sunday, Dak is left off a big list

Cowboys coaches aren’t worried about Collins’s stinger, Kellen Moore will sit out Sunday, Dak Prescott is MIA from the Top 100 players list. | From @ToddBrock24f7

It’s an eventful weekend for the Cowboys as training camp 2021 comes to an end. One of the team’s big men has thrown one final scare into the staff, but no one seems too concerned about his prognosis. Just the same, he won’t play in the final preseason game; he’ll be sitting this one out along with about 30 of the other starters. Those players aren’t the only ones who’ll be watching from the sides when Dallas plays Jacksonville; the team will have substitute offensive and defensive coordinators as well… but for different reasons.

After Sunday’s game, it will be all about final roster cuts. We’ve got predictions on who makes the 53, while also keeping an eye on other players who’ll suddenly be looking for employment. A talented quarterback has himself a new team; that’s one less option for Dallas should they choose to upgrade their backup plan. We’re looking ahead to next year, too, and wondering if Michael Gallup will really be a bargain. We’re profiling a few names Cowboys fans should know, from their new long snapper to two talented linebackers to a hopeful at fullback. Jerry Jones is talking about Tony Romo’s Hall of Fame chances… and the current Cowboys quarterback is inexplicably left off a pretty major list. Here’s the News and Notes to close out training camp.

Former Tigers OT La’el Collins dealing with yet another injury

Former LSU Tiger OT La’el Collins leaves practice on Friday with a stinger.

Just last week former LSU Tigers offensive tackle La’el Collins left practice with what was described as a neck/shoulder injury. He would return to the lineup to play in the Dallas Cowboys preseason game against Houston Texans. In that game, Collins would play in 19 offensive snaps. It appeared that he was once again healthy.

Ahead of the final preseason game of the year for Dallas against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it appears that La’el Collins is once again dealing with an injury.

After dealing with stiffness in his neck and shoulder area, a stinger seems like a less than stellar situation for the former undrafted free agent. Collins missed all of last season after needing hip surgery. The Cowboys had to use multiple players at right tackle and none of which seemed up to the challenge in 2020.

La’el also missed time in 2016 as well when he needed surgery to fix ligament damage in his right big toe. If he is going to miss time in 2021, the Cowboys might find themselves in a precarious position once again.

After the injury to Collins, swing tackle Ty Nsekhe took over the snaps at right tackle for the remainder of practice. Nsekhe is a journeyman in the NFL with plenty of experience, but Dallas needs Collins’ injury to be one that doesn’t linger into the season.

Fourth-round rookie Josh Ball has been out of action for much of the month, likely ending his chances of being the swing tackle conversation for the start of the season. – Cameron Burnett, Cowboys Wire

Cowboys News: Elliott’s restructure, Prescott’s practice, Collins injury concerns?

The Cowboys have questions to answer. What does Elliott’s restructure mean? Will Dallas make any moves? Is La’el Collins ready for Week 1?

The Dallas Cowboys are accustomed to restructuring contracts every year to open cap space for potential moves. On Friday, Dallas restructured running back Ezekiel Elliott’s deal and it begs the question if the Cowboys are looking to make a move on a veteran.

With potentially only two running backs on roster after Rico Dowdle went on season-ending IR, will Dallas look for reinforcements? What about other positions? A deeper look into a handful of potential playmakers the Cowboys could make trades for with the extra cap space.

Quarterback Dak Prescott is full-go at practice and took no time to show off his arm talent all over the field. Even with Prescott back, there’s a lot of questions about the rest of the quarterback room. After COVID issues limited the players at practice, Dallas welcomed back safeties Malik Hooker and Israel Mukuamu to the field late in the week. While the team got reinforcements, the Cowboys saw an offensive line starter leave practice with a stinger. With all the questions about Dallas’ health, can they keep everyone in one piece this season? Today’s news and notes.

Cowboys RT La’el Collins leaves practice with neck stinger

After missing the 2020 season, Cowboys RT La’el Collins left practice with a stinger on Friday and Ty Nsekhe took over in his absence. | From @CDBurnett7

The Dallas Cowboys had to spend all of the 2020 season dealing with injuries on the offensive line. With everyone returning from surgeries and rehab stints, there has been optimism that the whole unit can stay together for what could be a rebound season.

For right tackle La’el Collins, it’s been over a year since he played in a regular-season game after missing the 2020 season with hip surgery. Training camp had been going smoothly for the LSU product until he had to practice on August 18 after spending time with trainers nursing a neck injury. Collins quickly returned to practice the day after and played in the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Texans on August 21.

During Friday’s practice, Collins once again went to trainers and left practice with a neck stinger.

Dallas needs as much time in practice with their full unit as they can get and stinger issues can sometimes take a while to heal. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott returned to full practice and it might not be till Week 1 when he gets to spend practice with the starting offensive line.

After the injury to Collins, swing tackle Ty Nsekhe took over the snaps at right tackle for the remainder of practice. Nsekhe is a journeyman in the NFL with plenty of experience, but Dallas needs Collins’ injury to be one that doesn’t linger into the season.

Fourth-round rookie Josh Ball has been out of action for much of the month, likely ending his chances of being the swing tackle conversation for the start of the season.

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Cowboys offensive plans for Texans matchup are about what’s necessary

The offensive plans for the Dallas Cowboys dress rehearsal game against the Houston Texans doesn’t include the starting backfield, but it does contain a lot of what is necessary. | From @NoHuddle

The penultimate preseason game is typically seen as the NFL’s dress rehearsal. It’s the time when all the starters show up and play some meaningless football in hopes of getting in a rhythm that will last until the regular season begins nearly three weeks later. For the Dallas Cowboys defense, that will be the case against the Houston Texans. For the offense? Not so fast.

It’s the NFL’s version of a philosophical problem. Can there truly be a first team offense without the starting quarterback? Likely not, and as it stands, Dak Prescott will not factor in to Saturday’s game plan. He continues to rehab his strained shoulder though he is expected to ramp up his work next week.

He’s not just a one man show and with that in mind there are other players with a star on their helmet on the offensive side of the ball who will get in on their first game action this offseason.

First up is Amari Cooper, the wide receiver who came off of the PUP list a week and a half ago, will work into the rotation for a series or two. Meanwhile the triumvirate of Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins along the offensive line will all make an appearance, though for how long is not certain.