Ronald Martinez/Getty Images ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 09: Travis Frederick #72 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Dallas Cowboys’ dominos are starting to fall into place as training camp begins for the team in Oxnard, CA this weekend. As reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, center Travis Frederick is good to go for training camp. He’s planning to fully participate in training camp after missing the entire 2018 season due to Guillain-Barré syndrome — a disease that affects the nervous system.
Very good news for the #Cowboys: All-Pro C Travis Frederick, who dealt with Guillain-Barré syndrome last year, is expected to be active for the start of training camp. He avoids NFI and is ready to go.
The team will seemingly take their time with Frederick to ease him back into the flow of things after a season removed from football. It’s fair to say, he will be rested when possible to keep him on track for preseason action and the start of the regular season which is swiftly approaching.
His return will bring heavy relief to an offensive line that would like to get back to All-Pro form. This will help bolster a running attack, spearheaded by running back Ezekiel Elliott. It will also impact quarterback Dak Prescott’s ability to sit in the pocket without being trounced on by defensive players. Offensive line could be a strength for the Cowboys with the return of Frederick at center.
With contract negotiations up in the air for Elliott, Prescott, and wide receiver Amari Cooper, the team has has also elected to release wide receiver Allen Hurns today, saving $5 million in cap space.
DeMarcus Lawrence and Byron Jones on PUP List
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will join cornerback Byron Jones on the physically-unable-to-perform list(PUP) to start camp. This wasn’t too much of a surprise as both Jones and Lawrence are expected to be ready for Week one, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
Lawrence is coming off a shoulder surgery in April. He also signed a five-year, $105 million contract with the team. He’ll look to have double digit sacks for the third straight year with 14.5 sacks in 2017 and 10.5 sacks in 2018. He also had an average of 61 tackles over the last two seasons and added an interception in 2018.
Jones had hip surgery in March. He was recently voted 97th on NFL Network’s Top 100 players, voted on by the players.
Jones finished 2018 with his first Pro-Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro honor despite not recording an interception or touchdown. He’s the first Cowboys cornerback to be named to the Pro Bowl, since Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins in 2009.
Jones transitioned from safety to cornerback before the 2018 season, when secondary coach, Kris Richard took over. It looks like the scheme that brought Richard success in Seattle is making a tremendous impact to the Cowboys’ secondary after just one season. Richard received a lot of buzz when he was interviewed by the Miami Dolphins as a candidate for their vacant head coaching position. Richard has proven he could consistently mold players and should continue to do so with the Cowboys in the coming seasons.
What helps Jones’ case is his 25.4 forced incompletion percentage when being targeted, which ranks 2nd among cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
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