While it is fun to catalog the biggest winners from offseason workouts, the biggest “win” the Dallas Cowboys could have is escaping these practices with no catastrophic injuries.
They already have several key players on the comeback trail, including star defenders Trevon Diggs and DeMarvion Overshown. They cannot afford to lose any more pieces.
While the Cowboys have managed to avoid a debilitating injury, veteran offensive lineman Robert Jones left Tuesday’s practice with an undisclosed injury and was not spotted on Wednesday.
New Cowboys OL Robert Jones leaves minicamp with apparent injury
The details and severity of Jones’ injury remain undisclosed. Regardless, it is far from ideal for one of Dallas’ biggest moves in free agency.
The Cowboys gave Jones a one-year, $3.75 million deal. As the first response to Zack Martin’s retirement, fans did not take kindly to the move. Only defensive end Dante Fowler ($6 million) got a higher salary among the team’s external signings.
Jones started all 17 games for the Dolphins last season. It was the biggest workload of his career, and he struggled. Per ESPN analytics, Jones ranked 62nd out of 64 qualified guards in pass block win rate and 64th (!) in run block win rate.
The 26-year-old is a fine backup, but what made the signing so questionable is that Dallas already had a variety of rotational interior lineman.
Between Brock Hoffman, who was more than serviceable at right guard when he filled in for Martin last season, T.J. Bass, Asim Richards, who can play tackle and guard, it’s not like the Cowboys were starved for guard help. And yet, they also signed Saahdiq Charles and Hakeem Adeniji.
You can never have too much offensive line depth. It is a good problem to have, but it is fair to question what exactly the plan is behind Tyler Smith and first-round pick Tyler Booker.
The injury may prove to be inconsequential in the long run, but it does underline that Jones was a bit of a redundant addition, even if he has more experience than most of the reserve lineman.
