FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins will miss the rest of the season after he undergoes hip surgery that is scheduled for Wednesday, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
Collins opened the season on injured reserve and could have returned to action this week, but coach Mike McCarthy said Collins was a “ways off.”
“He’s obviously dealing with something that’s significant,” McCarthy said.
Collins did not practice much during training camp because of the hip. He was in a car accident in training camp, but that did not contribute to the injury. He was placed on injured reserve at the start of the season with the hope he could return early in the season, but after rest and rehab, the injury did not improve.
Collins started 47 of 48 games since moving to right tackle in 2017 and was coming off his best season in 2019. The Cowboys signed Collins to a five-year, $50 million extension last year that included $35 million guaranteed.
Undrafted rookie Terence Steele has started the first three games at right tackle, beating out veteran Cameron Erving for the spot. Erving suffered a knee injury in the season opener and is on injured reserve.
With left tackle Tyron Smith, who has been out the past two games with a neck injury, expected to return Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, the Cowboys could use Brandon Knight at right tackle if Steele struggles. Last week at Seattle, Steele left the game because of a stomach bug, which forced the Cowboys to move right guard Zack Martin to tackle and center Joe Looney to right guard, with rookie Tyler Biadasz taking over at center.
The Cowboys have looked for veteran help since Collins went on injured reserve. They made an offer to veteran Jared Veldheer, but he opted to retire. The Cowboys signed Jordan Mills, who has started 84 games in seven seasons, to the practice squad last week.
