At least the talk about Tony Romo’s health has taken a back seat.
If Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is looking for a silver lining as his team’s training camp begins its first practice on Saturday, the unexpected cover for Romo might be the lone upshot. Late July has finally arrived, but for the first time in years the annual buzz of Super Bowl hopes has sunk to the bottom of the agenda. Dallas has too many other things to worry about now.
Consider the Cowboys’ turbulence since June 30:
• A four-game substance abuse suspension of defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was upheld. Meanwhile, linebacker Rolando McClain was suspended 10 games for the same infraction. This happened on the heels of defensive end Randy Gregory being suspended four games earlier in the offseason.
• The Cowboys reportedly aren’t seeing significant regeneration in the damaged nerve in the knee of second-round pick Jaylon Smith. Jones said the team is hopeful, but the recovery timeline for the linebacker is still largely unknown.
• First-round pick Ezekiel Elliott was accused of domestic assault by a former girlfriend after an alleged incident in Columbus, Ohio. Police have thus far declined to charge Elliott after witnesses gave a conflicting account. The prosecutor’s office is investigating, according to a TMZ report on Wednesday.
• The Cowboys’ team bus was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in four deaths. Police determined that the driver for the Dallas team bus was not at fault.
• Gregory reportedly checked himself into drug rehab and allegedly violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy again by failing a test. Another failure could result in Gregory’s suspension being expanded from four games to at least 10.
Even in Dallas, that’s a busy month. Particularly when it comes prior to training camp, when coaches and players are trying to steal away a few last weeks of vacation. But that litany of news has pushed other concerns – like Romo’s health and the overall state of the quarterback depth chart – down the list of stress points. It also gives some early pause about how 2016 is going to fare inside that Romo Super Bowl window.
Time and health are running short for the 36-year-old star quarterback, and this isn’t the ideal way to begin a training camp.
There is perspective on all of these incidents, of course. Multiple sources – some inside the Cowboys and others close to the players – have provided context. Here is some …
• Jaylon Smith: It’s too early to make any call on his nerve damage. The Cowboys signed up for a patient 2016, and there is no panic over the nebulous state of progress (or lack thereof). The time for worrying will be later in the regular season. If the year draws to a close and there are still no markers on his progress, then there will be something to talk about, otherwise Dallas hopes to have Smith in the fold when the 2017 offseason starts. If that’s not within sight late in the season, it will be a problem.
• Rolando McClain and DeMarcus Lawrence: Dallas expects Lawrence to serve his four-game suspension and return to the team. McClain’s situation could be more complicated. There is some significant disappointment with McClain within both the coaching staff and executives, a team source told Yahoo Sports. There is a possibility that he serves his 10-game suspension and Dallas leaves him inactive the entire season. It’s likely that the bridges are mended and he plays when (or if) he becomes eligible. But McClain has lost a significant amount of trust in the building.
• Ezekiel Elliott: The Cowboys are playing this situation very conservatively with their public statements, but there is some internal questioning about the domestic assault allegation and how it unfolded. Dallas doesn’t want another repeat of the Greg Hardy embarrassment, so the team is taking this seriously. There is, however, strong sentiment internally that Elliott is solidly backed up by witnesses who refuted the alleged incident and that he will ultimately be cleared.
Randy Gregory: The picture for Gregory is so troublesome that there is some question about whether he’ll play in the NFL again. The Cowboys feel they put an infrastructure around him to succeed – including having someone living with him in Dallas – and that he hasn’t lived up to his end of the bargain. The current sentiment is a combination of concern and disappointment. Interestingly, there doesn’t appear to be any finger-pointing in terms of the decision to draft Gregory. Expect Dallas to relate that decision as one made by the entire franchise, from Jerry Jones on down to the rest of the personnel department and coaching staff.
While all of those players have provided some level of distraction – fairly or unfairly – they’ve also pushed Dallas into an intersection where it concerns the roster. From a pass rush standpoint, there is a lot of pressure on this training camp. The coaching staff wants to get a look at the defensive roster and see if some young candidates emerge and remove the need to make a move elsewhere. But the front office and coaching staff is already opening up to other options.
Barring a handful of young players showing a major leap in progress, Dallas is going to scour other rosters looking for potential acquisitions. That could be through a trade or another team giving up on a player Dallas likes. As it stands, the Cowboys have the fourth position on waiver wire claims, and they’re ready to use that to their advantage. But while a move would most likely involve an older veteran who won’t require much in a tradeoff, there is a possibility of a trade that might involve one of the Cowboys’ young pieces.
The player to keep an eye on could be second-year guard La’el Collins. While Collins has the ability to be a top-shelf mainstay at guard, the Cowboys have some flexibility at the position. Backup Ronald Leary is a starting caliber player whose injury history dampens his trade value but he’s still viewed as a viable starter for Dallas. Collins, on the other hand, would have some significant trade value to the right team. He’s young, has a cheap contract and Pro Bowl potential. He could be dangled to land an edge rusher. And if not Collins, the Cowboys could look at trading away a future first-round pick. Without a doubt Collins and/or a first-round pick would open a lot of ears when it comes to trade conversations.
Dallas is right where it usually is in July – being one of the NFL teams most worthy of keeping an eye on. Whether it’s suspensions, potential trades or inevitable roster shuffling, the Cowboys have a lot to sort out in the preseason. For now, the Super Bowl speculation and questions about Romo and storylines involving Dez Bryant will be put on hold.
For a week. Maybe.
No comments:
Post a Comment