One of the biggest offseason question marks for the Dallas Cowboys is the health of their projected offensive tackles Tyron Smith and La’el Collins. Collins didn’t play a single snap in 2020, and Smith missed all but the first two games of the season. It was one of the bigger disappointments in a hugely disappointing season.
However, things appear to be looking up for both players this offseason as they’re progressing and should be ready to go in 2021.
As Jane Slater of the NFL Network noted, Tyron Smith has been working in the gym to get himself back and ready to go for the 2021 season. La’el Collins has been working with independent offensive line coach Duke Manyweather.
There’s still a long time to go this offseason before the Cowboys’ two starting tackles have to be ready to step onto the practice field, but these are good signs. Much of how they progress will impact how the Cowboys approach the offensive tackle position in free agency and the NFL Draft.
The Cowboys will be bringing back Brandon Knight and Terence Steele as their backup tackles. However, with the injury issues that Tyron Smith has dealt with each season since 2016 and La’el Collins’ new-found issues, the Cowboys may not want to go into 2021 with just Knight and Steele in place to back up their starters.
They could bring back Cam Erving, who played well in his limited appearances, but that doesn’t seem like a good long-term plan at tackle either.
Regardless of how the rest of the offseason goes, it’s good news that the Cowboys’ two starting tackles are making progress to be ready for the start of the regular season. For the Cowboys to contend in 2021, they’re going to need consistency along the offensive line. Hopefully, Dallas gets a little bit of injury good luck this year.
