Now that the Week 3 “dress rehearsal” preseason game is over for the Dallas Cowboys, they now have to turn their attention to figuring out exactly who they want to be a part of their final 53-man roster. They will have some tough decisions to make, but none tougher than deciding what to do with Center Travis Frederick.
If you haven't heard by now, Travis Frederick was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disease. He has already started to receive treatment and is expected to make a full recovery at some point, but his return to the field has yet to be determined.
Since there are just so many roster spots to go around, the Dallas Cowboys are going to have to determine whether or not they want to keep Frederick on the active roster or place him on injured reserve. This definitely isn't going to be an easy decision for them to make, but one that could be costly if not addressed properly.
Since the timetable for Travis Frederick's return to the field is unknown, I'm personally leaning towards the Dallas Cowboys putting their All-Pro on IR. Ideally, we all hope he can return in just a few weeks time, but I don't want to rush him back before he's ready.
If Travis Frederick is indeed placed on IR, he will be forced to miss at least the first eight weeks of the 2018 season. Now, that may seem like a lot of games to miss, and it would certainly hurt the Cowboys, but it may not be as bad as it seems from the outside looking in.
Here are the games Travis Frederick would miss if placed on IR:
Week 1 @ Carolina Panthers
Week 2 New York Giants
Week 3 @ Seattle Seahawks
Week 4 Detroit Lions
Week 5 @ Houston Texans
Week 6 Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 7 @ Washington Redskins
-BYE WEEK-
As you can see, Frederick might just have to miss seven regular-season games if placed on IR, at least that's the way I interpreted the NFL's injured reserve rules. The way I read it is a player can be designated to return after eight weeks, not eight games. If that is indeed the case, I think Frederick landing on IR is a much easier pill to swallow.
This of course is all speculation at this point. I really don't know how Travis Frederick is responding to treatment or the best case scenario of him being able to return to the field. I do know that there is a high possibility he might have to miss several weeks, which is the only reason I consider him an IR candidate to begin with.
We are all hoping he is able to make a full recovery sooner rather than later, but this is something that can't be rushed. I want him as close to 100% as possible, because anything less than that could make him susceptible to sustaining an injury because of his weakened state. That is why I would personally err on the side of caution the situation.
