Getty Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
La’el Collins might have started his final game as the Dallas Cowboys right tackle.
Despite returning from a five-game suspension, Collins played just five offensive snaps in Sunday’s 20-16 win at Minnesota, ceding RT1 duties to impressive fill-in Terence Steele.
According to Pat Doney of NBC5, the team’s reluctance to insert Collins back into the lineup could foreshadow his eventual departure.
“Wonder if #DallasCowboys decision to keep Terence Steele at RT is an indicator of DAL’s plan to potentially release La’el Collins after this season,” Doney tweeted on October 27. “As @toddarcher reported yesterday, Dallas could save ‘$10 million as a post-June 1 release’ — & they likely need the cap space.”
Asked why Dallas would release 28-year-old Collins, a 62-game starter across six seasons, Doney replied: “He’s played in one game since December of 2019, they have his potential (cheaper) replacement, and they are about to face very difficult roster decisions (Gregory, Gallup, Schultz, Amari/Lawrence (maybe), etc.)”
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”d1abl0h9os” question=”Should the Cowboys move on from La’el Collins?” opened=”0″]Signed through 2024, Collins is counting $6.3 million against the Cowboys’ salary cap.[/wpdiscuz-feedback] Per Spotrac, a potential out exists in his contract in 2022, before the fifth day of the new league year, when $6.4 million of his $10 million base salary would become fully guaranteed.
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Dallas Rejects McGovern Offer: Report
The Cowboys, by their own admission, don’t consider themselves buyers at Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET NFL trade deadline. And, judging from a recent media report, they don’t appear to be sellers, either.
“My friend @BryanBroaddus tells me and the world that the Cowboys had a trade offer for Connor McGovern that they turned down,” Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 The Fan tweeted October 29.
A third-round pick in the 2019 draft, McGovern is listed as the direct backup to starting left guard Connor Williams. He’s appeared in seven games this season but logged just 125 offensive snaps (24%). After missing his entire rookie campaign, McGovern made eight starts in 2020 for then-injured right guard Zack Martin.
“Great work ethic,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said in September, per the official team website. “I thought he finished last year as one of the stronger performers on our offensive line at the end of the season. … Definitely one of the offseason bright spots of an offseason where we had a lot of bright spots.”
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Jones Offers Update on Tyron Smith
Cowboys stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith entered Week 8 with an ankle injury and suffered an apparent re-aggravation against the Vikings. Unfortunately for Smith, the issue may be worse than initially thought.
“We’ll have to see how Tyron practices. They say it’s a [bone] spur. …We should and will practice with alternatives to him being out there,” team owner/general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan, via the Dallas Morning News.
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”noqsswkgl7″ question=”Should the Cowboys shut down Tyron Smith now to gear up for the playoffs?” opened=”0″]Sports medical analyst David J. Chao suggested that Dallas shut down Smith for multiple weeks to allow his ankle the time it needs to properly heal.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
“Bone spurs don’t go away without surgery. A matter of management or perhaps scope and take 4 weeks to get right. @dallascowboys do have a commanding #NFCEast lead. If they feel they need Tyron Smith fully healthy for playoffs, might be smart to take care of it now,” Chao tweeted Tuesday.
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