Cowboys tackle La’el Collins out for the season to undergo hip surgery
By Scott Rogust
Known for their stout offensive line, the Dallas Cowboys and La’el Collins were dealt a bad break on Saturday.
The Dallas Cowboys’ 2020 season has not gotten off to the start the team and fans were expecting. They sit in first place in the NFC East, but with a measly 1-2 record. To make matters worse, the Cowboys had to deal with a variety of long-term injuries on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately for Dallas, the bad news kept on coming.
According to Jane Slater of NFL Network, Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins is undergoing hip surgery this Wednesday, which is expected to knock him out for the remainder of the season.
#Cowboys T La’el Collins will now have surgery Wednesday to address the hip injury per source. The pain became intolerable despite him wanting to play through it. I’m told this now means he’s out for the season.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 3, 2020
La’el Collins’ season ends without ever taking the field
Collins only participated in the first week of Cowboys training camp due to the hip injury, forcing the team to place him on the short-term injured reserve prior to the start of the regular season. After three weeks, Collins showed no progress in his recovery, with head coach Mike McCarthy saying he was “a ways off.”
Surgery was an option, but Collins wanted to see if he could play through the pain, saying that he’d only go under the knife if the team were winless late in the season. The pain was just too much for the offensive tackle, and he opted for surgery.
Dallas’ offensive line was always viewed as their main strength for the better part of the past decade. But 2020 has been cruel to the unit. Left tackle Tyron Smith has missed Dallas’ last two games against the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks due to a neck injury. Collins’ backup, Cam Erving, was placed on the injured reserve on Sept. 16 after suffering an MCL sprain during the team’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Now Collins is done for the year without ever taking the field.
Luckily for the Cowboys, Smith has practiced this week, putting him on track to start this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. If that’s the case, one of Brandon Knight or Terrence Steele will start at right tackle. However, we can’t rule out guard Zack Martin moving to tackle, like he did mid-game against the Seahawks.
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