Dallas Cowboys will turn to Joe Looney following Travis Frederick diagnosis
After the revelation that Dallas Cowboys All-Pro center Travis Frederick could miss several weeks due to an autoimmune disease, it’s next man up in Big D.
The Dallas Cowboys offensive line took a major blow on Wednesday when it was revealed that starting center Travis Frederick has been diagnosed with Guillain Barré Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease. The illness was discovered after the 27-year old Pro Bowler was sidelined due to neck issues (stingers) during the preseason.
According to Frederick via Twitter, the disease was detected at a fairly early stage and he is confident in both his current condition and his immediate future. That being said, no time table has been set for his return.
Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News talked to a neurologist at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas who said the standard recovery time for someone who is young and is diagnosed early with Guillain Barré Syndrome is one to two months. But there are also fears Frederick could end up missing much more time than that.
This latest news has certainly thrown a monkeywrench into the Cowboys’ plans heading into their third preseason game and just over two weeks before their first regular season game. Without Frederick anchoring the offensive line, Dallas will now turn to five-year veteran Joe Looney to replace the four-time Pro Bowler.
Looney has spent the past two seasons with the Cowboys, after the 2012 fourth-round selection out of Wake Forest started his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. The 27-year old guard/center has played in a total 59 games, starting in just 13 contests during his pro career. Looney has only started three times since being in Dallas.
The Cowboys will now ask Looney to fill the starting role at center in place of Frederick, a former first round pick who has never missed a single game during his five-year career in Dallas, starting a whopping 80 straight games.
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Luckily for the Dallas Cowboys, Joe Looney is coming off a very strong performance at training camp. And he appears more than capable of holding down the fort until Travis Frederick’s return. Yet, without Frederick, the Cowboys offensive line is not at full strength. And that will put extra pressure on right guard Zack Martin, who is currently dealing with a knee injury, and possibly hinder the development of rookie left guard Connor Williams.