It is possible that some Cowboys fans were looking forward to the second week of free agency. We were all expecting the team to sign a few players, address a couple of needs, but mostly we all figured this would be a relatively chill week. That thought didn’t even live past Monday.
Cowboys center Travis Frederick announced his retirement on the first day of the work week and it shocked fans everywhere. Frederick’s medical history is well-documented, but still, retirements like these can be jarring especially considering his age. If he feels now is the time to walk away, then we all absolutely respect that decision, we will simply miss watching him play football.
Frederick calling it a career marked what has become sort of the annual gigantic Dallas Cowboys storyline. For the better part of the last half decade there has always been something concerning America’s Team that shocked the football world.
- 2015: Offseason coming off of Dez Bryant catching it, deciding between him and DeMarco Murray, and then Dez holding out (while not really holding out)
- 2016: The Cowboys held the fourth overall pick and there were some spirited debates as to how they should have used it
- 2017: Tony Romo retired and entered the CBS booth
- 2018: Dallas cut Dez... and Jason Witten retired
- 2019: Jason Witten returned!
- 2020: Travis Frederick retired
Thinking back on it the last somewhat quiet offseason came in 2014, although at that point in time the team had just finished its third straight 8-8 season with a Week 17 loss to a division rival in a de facto NFC East title game. Having all three come against each of the division rivals didn’t exactly help it sting less.
There are a number of things that we are all thinking and feeling about Frederick retiring and we tried to tie a bow on them for you in the latest video on the Blogging The Boys YouTube Channel (subscribe right here). May Travis have success at whatever he does in life. He deserves it.