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La’el Collins’ season is over before it began.
NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported prior to Week 4 the Dallas Cowboys‘ starting right tackle will undergo hip surgery Wednesday. He’ll miss the remainder of 2020 on injured reserve.
“The pain became intolerable despite him wanting to play through it,” Slater tweeted.
The writing was on the wall after Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy admitted last month Collins is “a ways off” from returning with “an obviously significant” ailment.
Which has been shrouded in mystery since the summer. McCarthy initially declared in August that Collins would miss “some time” but also that it’s “nothing serious.” The 27-year-old was sent to short-term IR, along with linebacker Sean Lee (groin), on Sept. 5.
Some have speculated Collins’ hip issue is related to the car accident he was involved in days after training camp began. The crash was reported to be “major” despite him seemingly emerging unscathed.
Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones wouldn’t confirm nor deny the aforementioned theory, but he did let slip that Collins is battling “a couple issues” — plural.
“He’s just working with a couple issues that he’s trying to get right,” Jones said last week on 105.3 The Fan. “Don’t want to get into specifics in terms of exactly what his injury is or injuries are, but working through all that with him, trying to get him in a place where he can get himself ready to play at a high level again.”
Collins, a 61-game starter, inked a five-year, $50 million extension in 2019. He should be fully healthy in time for the Cowboys’ offseason program, assuming no setbacks.
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Full-Time Replacement
Undrafted rookie Terence Steele has started in Collins’ stead through four games. Steele was atrocious in Weeks 1 and 2 before slightly improving in Week 3. He reverted to his subpar ways in Sunday’s loss to the Browns, struggling badly against Pro Bowl pass-rusher Myles Garrett.
Steele was so ineffectual that he was benched in the first half for Brandon Knight. Knight had started at left tackle in place of Tyron Smith (neck), but Smith’s return to the lineup allowed Knight to kick to the other edge.
Knight was a noticeable improvement as Dallas’ offensive line limited the Browns to three sacks on quarterback Dak Prescott. He should continue to operate at RT going forward, at least until primary swing OT Cameron Erving (knee) is activated from IR.
“We’ve just got to make sure that both those guys are ready to play,” McCarthy said of Steele and Knight, via the team’s official website.
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