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The Dallas Cowboys, like every other NFL team, officially set their 53-man roster on Saturday afternoon, but as we all know that is hardly the 53 players that are going to be participating every week starting Monday.
Roster tinkering is something that happens all of the time but teams have a lot to juggle at the moment given the climate of Covid-19. We will undoubtedly see the Cowboys place a few players on injured reserve which will open up some more spots for either players they cut or new faces, and a lot of them are expected.
Names like Sean Lee and Jourdan Lewis have been tossed out as potential candidates to begin the season on injured reserve. A report popped up on Saturday about a different one though, one that is absolutely going be a big deal.
La’el Collins is expected to open the season on injured reserve
Since training camp began there have been questions about La’el Collins and why he hasn’t always been a part of full practices. Mike McCarthy and Co. have danced around the subject, but many have speculated that things aren’t totally right.
We still don’t exactly know what’s going on but we do know one big thing. Collins is expected to begin the season, along with Sean Lee, on injured reserve. Per ESPN’s Todd Archer:
According to multiple sources, the Cowboys will place right tackle La’el Collins and linebacker Sean Lee on injured reserve Sunday. Since they were on the active roster Saturday, they will have to miss only the first three games. Collins has been dealing with a hip issue, while Lee has been dealing with a pelvis strain that dates back to late last season. Look for linebacker Justin March and cornerback C.J. Goodwin to be re-signed on Sunday.
Lee and Collins being placed on injured reserve would obviously open up two spots and according to Todd Archer’s report, that could be how Justin March and C.J. Goodwin end up back on the team. While it will be nice to have them back, it is fair to be concerned about Collins’ status at this point.
Collins and Lee will each have to be on injured reserve for at least three weeks which means at minimum they will miss games on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, at home against the Atlanta Falcons, and on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.
Dallas has Cam Erving, Brandon Knight, and Terence Steele all as available options to play tackle without Collins. How they manage to carry on will be interesting.