Cowboys Injury Update: Tyron & La'el Collins

Good in-the-gym news on Cowboys tackles Tyron Smith and La’el Collins

FRISCO - Amid speculation about issues - injury and otherwise - with the two stalwart Dallas Cowboys offensive tackles - comes good news about their rehab progress and, presumably, their 2021 plans.

Regarding the "health of the offensive line,'' reports Jane Slater of NFL Network, "I’m told left tackle Tyron Smith has been a regular in the gym and has been successful in his rehab (and that) La’el Collins is already working out with offseason position coach.''

Two other notes I’ll address on @nflnetwork? Health of the offensive line.
I’m told LT Tyron Smith has been a regular in the gym and has been successful in his rehab. RT La’el Collins is already working out with offseason position coach @BigDuke50 #Cowboys

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) February 23, 2021

All in all, good news for two of Dak Prescott's protectors.

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Agent Deryk Gilmore wrote on Saturday, "no, my client La’el Collins is not retiring. He loves football and the Dallas Cowboys and is working for a Super Bowl ring. Have a blessed weekend everyone!''

We didn't know there even was a Lae'l rumor, but that should be the end of that. Collins is just 27, with Pro Bowl-level talent, and with four years left on a contract with a salary-cap impact of about $12 million annually.

The Cowboys have said, publicly and privately, that Collins is fully expected to return for 2021 after a difficult season in which physical problems stacked up starting at training camp, when he was overweight and was moved to PUP. Shortly after that, he sustained a hip injury and may have also injured a groin.

At the end of camp, he was put on IR and missed the entire season.

Fellow tackle Tyron Smith, meanwhile, missed almost the entire year after neck surgery; there has been speculation about his future, though the Cowboys say they are planning on his return. Slater's report offers no guarantees of that ... but is nevertheless a positive sign about the 30-year-old future Hall-of-Famer.

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