The Cowboys will now have to have permanent plans of going the rest of the 2020 season without their star tackle.
The mystery is over, the attempt to play this year is done. After being placed on injured reserve to start the season, Dallas Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins was thought to be on his way back as soon as he got into shape. However, since it has become known Collins was dealing with much more than just a conditioning issue.
After working his way into shape, Collins joined training camp for just a week. In that span, he was involved in a car accident of unknown severity. Whether that contributed or not, he began the year on IR and it was eventually learned Collins was suffering from a hip injury. Recent talks had indicated that he was avoiding injury in hopes of returning to help the club at some point in 2020, but on Saturday that hope came to an end. According to NFL Network’s Jane Slater, Collins will have surgery this coming week and it will end his season.
Collins had elevated his game in 2019 and was playing so well we wondered allowed if he had taken the mantle of best tackle away from seven-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith.
Collins finished the year as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-highest graded tackle and third-highest in run blocking. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl, but should have, as he finally fulfilled the promise shown back in his early years when he was bulldozing defenders.
Collins would have four shutouts on the season, only allowing two sacks all year according to PFF. His penalty rate also dropped, plummeting from 11 to 5, meaning that the sacks allowed was truly a function of better technique.
His absence this season, along with Smith’s neck stingers, has forced the Cowboys to play two undrafted free agents at tackle for the last two weeks.
Brandon Knight and Terence Steele have tried, but there’s no way they’d both fill in adequately, especially with the issues Dallas has been having at left guard and center. Now, with Collins out for the season, there will have to be an altered approach.
Dallas signed Cam Erving in the offseason to be the swing tackle, but his play in training camp led to him being buried behind Steele in Week 1. To make matters worse, he was injured in special teams in that game and is on injured reserve himself. His MCL sprain should be a 2-4 week injury, indicating he could return in the next couple of weeks.
The club recently signed former Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears tackle Jordan Mills to the practice squad.
In last week’s loss to Seattle, the team moved right tackle Zack Martin out to right tackle for much of the second half, because Steele was reportedly suffering from food poisoning.
That was a temporary move, but with Collins now being out for the season, will Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore consider kicking the perennial All-Pro outside for the rest of the year?
Steele by most accounts hasn’t been good. The UDFA from Texas Tech has allowed several pressures and committed multiple penalties in just three games. Knight has played better subbing in for Smith, and maybe its gamesmanship, but word leaked Saturday they would still start Steele at RT if Smith was able to go on the left side.
If the Cowboys are creative, they have the potential to solve the problem by moving players around. Left guard Connor Williams is struggling in his role, but he – like Martin – was a tackle in college. Probably a better option would be to allow rookie fourth rounder Tyler Biadasz to play center, and that would allow Williams, Looney and 2019 third-rounder Connor McGovern to man the two guard spots with Martin kicked out to right tackle.
It’s almost impossible to find a tackle in free agency at this point, but there are guard options out there to consider.
Whatever way it plays out, Dallas is certainly in a worse position without having the exploits of Collins.
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