The Dallas Cowboys offensive line has taken a major hit, guard Rob Jones is set to miss multiple months due to a broken bone in his neck.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Todd Archer, Jones is expected to miss two to three months after suffering the injury during Sunday’s practice.
After spending the first four years of his career with the Miami Dolphins, Jones signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys as a free agent in March. He was brought in to provide depth at guard in the wake of Zack Martin’s retirement.
What It Means
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters on Sunday that Jones had been playing with the starting offensive line due to his strong play early in camp, but the coaching staff would continue to get Booker reps with that group.
Jones’ injury will likely push Booker back into a more prominent role leading into the Cowboys’ first preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 9.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1949805530018455776He was getting starter reps, and for a young offensive line, this hurts a little bit. Depth on the offensive line is always a bonus, and it seems like they liked what they were getting from the veteran.
As noted above he played with Miami a year ago and started all 17 games at left guard last season, bringing his career totals with the Dolphins to 49 games and 30 starts since arriving as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
I would guess that the team will look to maybe sign a free agent just to sign a body, but looking at the names the only ones that I would take a serious look at is Shaq Mason.
He started 15 games last year with the Texans and still wants to play from what I have read.
Mason played 931 snaps at right guard for the Houston Texans last season.
The experienced blocker earned a stellar pass-blocking grade of 65.2 from Pro Football Focus. Mason would have easily been Seattle’s best performing interior offensive lineman last season.
The Cowboys can’t afford these types of injuries early in camp because it throws a wrench in what they to establish, so they are ready to go for September.
Outside of needing to sign Micah Parsons, it sounds like the rest of the camp has went well thus far. A lot of good progress seems to being made by some of the younger guys and George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb look like the real deal!
