Yahoo Sports Report: Cowboys RT La'el Collins to undergo season-ending hip surgery
The Dallas Cowboys offensive line just received a significant blow.
Right tackle La’el Collins will undergo season-ending surgery on his hip, according to NFL Network’s Jane Slater. The pain Collins had in his hip injury had reportedly become unbearable.
#Cowboys T La’el Collins will now have surgery Wednesday to address the hip injury per source. The pain became intolerable despite him wanting to play through it. I’m told this now means he’s out for the season.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 3, 2020
The Cowboys had previously placed Collins on injured reserve before Week 1. This season’s injured reserve rules, which only require a player to sit out three weeks, would have allowed Collins to return as soon as Week 4, but now he’ll sit for the season.
Cowboys’ O-line chaos continues
With Collins’ absence now a permanent fixture of the season, the Cowboys might have to adjust their plans on the offensive line.
Undrafted free agent Terence Steele has been filling in at right tackle in Collins’ absence, though he exited during last week’s game with food poisoning. In Steele’s place, perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin shifted outside and impressed.
Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith has also missed the Cowboys’ last two games with a neck injury, and is reportedly on track to return for Week 4. Brandon Knight, an undrafted free agent in the Cowboys’ 2019 rookie class, had been filling in at left tackle and could also be a possibility at right tackle going forward.
Collins, who famously landed in Dallas after falling out of the draft, signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension last year and is considered a major building block for the team on offense. Missing both him and Smith is not what the Cowboys needed in a year with Super Bowl aspirations despite the retirement of Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick.
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