With a new head coach has come a new way of naming team captains for the Dallas Cowboys. Like he used to do in Green Bay, Mike McCarthy will be picking captains on a weekly basis and has started with QB Dak Prescott, LB Jaylon Smith, and LS L.P. Ladouceur in the season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
These selections provide a captain from each major group of the team; offense, defense, and special teams.
None of these picks are a big surprise. The starting QB is generally a de facto captain even when not officially named, but Dak Prescott has had a pretty big week being a leader for his team and the greater world of sports. Prescott’s honesty about his mental health during the offseason was a major story that drew attention from even outside of football.
Jaylon Smith is one of the Cowboys best defensive players and also one of its biggest personalities. He’s been praised as a training camp standout and appears to have taken on a greater leadership role.
L.P. Ladouceur is the elder statesman of the entire roster. The 39-year-old has been with Dallas since 2005 and is perfection personified as the team’s long snapper.
Traditionally, the Cowboys have named their starters at the beginning of the season and not changed them during the year. It will be interesting to track how McCarthy handles this from week to week, perhaps giving us more insight into the locker room as the season progresses.
