Dallas Cowboys seem unlikely to re-sign this free agent
Despite having an excellent year, it now seems unlikely that the Dallas Cowboys will re-sign this starting offensive lineman who is currently a free agent.
When the Dallas Cowboys lost their starting quarterback Tony Romo during the team’s third preseason game last year, it was the back injury heard around the world. Fortunately, Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott stepped up in the veteran’s place under center. And the fourth rounder played so well that when Romo returned healthy, he didn’t have a starting job to come back to.
The same exact thing happened along Dallas’ offensive line last season. After starting at left guard for the Cowboys first three games of the year, La’el Collins suffered a foot injury, tearing a ligament in his right big toe. Fortunately, Dallas had veteran Ronald Leary on the depth chart to fill-in. Leary played so well, in fact, some wondered if Collins would get his old job back when he returned.
The 27-year old Leary is now a free agent. A restricted one last year, the veteran lineman was actively seeking a trade out of Dallas after being replaced on the starting lineup by Collins the year before. But Leary lacked leverage to make a move happen because he’d already signed a one-year tender to stay. And the Cowboys wisely kept him for depth last season.
A year later and Leary has likely significantly increased his value in free agency. Pro Football Focus ranked him the 25th best guard in the NFL last season. They also gave Leary a high rating (82.5) as a run blocker, the 13th best in the league.
In fact, one Cowboys insider believes Leary’s price tag might now be too high for Dallas to even consider re-signing him this offseason.
"“I think people are going to be pretty surprised by the offers Leary will earn on the open market,” replied David Helman to a recent mailbag question on the team’s official website. “With a contract extension looming for Zack Martin, I don’t see the Cowboys trying to match those offers. Instead, I think they’ll plug La’el back in at left guard, let Doug Free play the final year on his contract and hope Chaz Green can establish himself as the long-term future at right tackle.”"
One of the main reasons many want the Cowboys to re-sign Leary is to finally replace right tackle Doug Free. For years, Free has been considered the weakest link along this talented offensive line. The 33-year old is a streaky player, who led the team in penalties in 2016 with eight. (according to nflpenalties.com). With Leary cemented at left guard, Collins could shift to replace Free at starting right tackle.
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But with the impending re-signing of Martin, it seems Dallas and it’s fans will have to suffer through yet another season of mediocre play from the right tackle position. And with a healthy Collins returning, the recent signing of former first round selection guard Jonathan Cooper and the positive year tackle Chaz Green had in 2016, the Cowboys likely feel they have enough options to allow a player like Leary to walk.