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Jason Peters

Tyler Biadasz Suffers High Ankle Sprain

December 30th, 2022 at 3:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tyler Biadasz will not be available for the Cowboys’ regular-season finale against the Commanders, but the team is hopeful he will be able to return in the playoffs.

After Biadasz exited Thursday night’s game, tests revealed he suffered a high ankle sprain, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets. While the former fourth-round pick will not be ready for Week 18, per ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (on Twitter), the team hopes this two-plus-week hiatus will provide enough time for a return in Round 1.

Travis Frederick‘s long-term successor, Biadasz has avoided injuries for most of his Cowboys career. Coming into Thursday night, he had started 33 consecutive games. His injury caused nearly the entire Cowboys offensive line to shift roles.

Connor McGovern moved from left guard to center, Tyler Smith slid from left tackle to left guard and Jason Peters came in to play left tackle. The Cowboys have some depth up front to withstand a Biadasz absence, though the team placed Tyron Smith at right tackle upon returning in order to keep the rest of its line stable. If Peters has to start in Week 18, Mike McCarthy said he is no longer under any snap-count restrictions. He played 19 snaps Thursday and has topped out at 21 this year. Their center’s injury could well prompt the Cowboys to trot out an O-line featuring three potential Hall of Famers; quite the backup plan.

Although the Cowboys have battled some injuries up front this season — Tyron Smith’s, an early-season McGovern high ankle sprain — they had all their key principals back for the stretch run. Providing a comp of sorts, McGovern missed two games because of his September ankle injury. Three of Dallas’ O-linemen — Tyler Smith, Biadasz and Zack Martin — have played all 16 games. That provided considerable aid to Cooper Rush during Dak Prescott‘s absence and boosted Tony Pollard to his first Pro Bowl.

Biadasz’s injury certainly could have been worse, so this represents some good news for he and the Cowboys. Biadasz will become eligible for an extension at the end of the regular season.

Tyron Smith Expected To Return In Week 15, Play Right Tackle

December 17th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

TODAY, 1:15pm: Tyron Smith has indeed been activated from injured reserve, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The offensive lineman doesn’t have an injury status for tomorrow’s game.

FRIDAY, 3:00pm: Terence Steele‘s season-ending injury has changed the Cowboys’ plans. Rather than slide Tyron Smith back into the spot at which he earned All-Decade acclaim, the Cowboys are preparing for both their Smith blockers to line up at tackle this week.

Tyler Smith is expected to remain at left tackle, and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes Dallas’ 11-year blindside starter is likely to line up on the right side against the Jaguars on Sunday. The Cowboys are planning to activate Tyron Smith from IR. He has missed the team’s first 13 games because of a torn hamstring.

The Cowboys had planned to move Tyler Smith to left guard, but Steele’s injury looks to have nixed that idea. Rather than moving a rookie off the spot he has played all season, Dallas will ask one of this era’s best left tackles to work at a position he has not played since his 2011 rookie year. Josh Ball replaced Steele in Week 14, and earlier this week, it appeared (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins, on Twitter) the plan would be for Ball and Jason Peters to rotate at right tackle. A more interesting solution appears in the cards.

Dallas has two of the most recent All-Decade team’s left tackles, in Peters and Tyron Smith, but the former has not played on the right side since 2006. Peters has transitioned to guard this season, rotating in as a backup at points prior to his right-edge cameo in Week 14. The 40-year-old blocker represents an unusual swing player, but he replaced Ball on Dallas’ game-winning drive against the Texans.

Mike McCarthy said he tried as many as five O-line combinations Thursday, though the easiest way to not disrupt continuity would be to plug in Tyron Smith and leave the other four spots unchanged. It does represent an interesting ask from the Cowboys, with Smith coming back after a near-four-month absence and being thrown into a new role. Should this not work out, however, the team has some flexibility here.

It would make for quite the interesting footnote in O-line history if two likely Hall of Fame left tackles each played on the right side in the same game. Although it is not known who will start, that could very well happen.

NFC East Notes: Wentz, Cowboys, Collins

October 13th, 2022 at 11:03am CST by Sam Robinson

Although Carson Wentz scrutiny has intensified over the past two seasons, he has not missed time due to injury in that span. But the Commanders quarterback will be playing hurt for the time being. Wentz is battling a right biceps tendon strain, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, who adds this issue injected some doubt into the seventh-year quarterback’s availability against the Bears on Thursday night. Wentz will play and hope he can improve during Washington’s upcoming mini-bye.

Wentz, who has thrown 10 touchdown passes this season, ranks 24th in QBR going into Washington’s Week 6 game. Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • Another player who has dealt with a litany of injuries, Jason Peters may return to action sooner than expected. A chest injury was rumored to affect the 40-year-old lineman’s status for multiple weeks, but after going through practice Wednesday, Peters declared himself “ready to roll” for Sunday night’s Cowboys-Eagles tilt (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota, on Twitter). Peters practiced in a limited capacity to start the week. He has played in two games with Dallas, seeing his Week 4 snap count (34) rise from his Cowboys debut (22). Peters has rotated in with both Connor McGovern and Matt Farniok at left guard this season.
  • Dalton Schultz aggravated the knee injury that forced him to miss Week 4. The franchise-tagged Cowboys tight end returned to action in Los Angeles but left the game due to his PCL issue flaring up, Pelissero tweets. While this is a bit concerning, Pelissero adds no new damage occurred. Schultz still has a chance to play against the Eagles. Schultz got in a limited practice Wednesday. Like fellow tagged tight end Mike Gesicki, Schultz has not made much of an impact this season. He will enter Week 6 with nine catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns.
  • Landon Collins initially left the Giants after Washington blew him away with a six-year, $84MM offer in 2019, but the veteran defender said he wanted to stay in New York. “I would have definitely loved to be here. It sucked,” Collins said, via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, of leaving New York three years ago. “I honestly wanted to stay but [former GM Dave] Gettleman didn’t want me here. Had to take my chances somewhere else.” The Giants, who drafted Collins under a previous regime, did not submit an offer to the former second-rounder on the way out. Collins, who caught on with the Giants’ practice squad last week, is not expected to be activated this week, per Schwartz. But the Pro Bowl safety-turned-linebacker is ramping up toward a near-future hybrid role. Collins, 28, said he wants to retire with the Giants. His 2022 play will determine how realistic that prospect is.

Cowboys OL Jason Peters Could Miss A Few Weeks

October 8th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Ben Levine

It doesn’t sound like Jason Peters will be taking the field this weekend. Despite being listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game, the Cowboys lineman will definitively not play against the Rams, tweets Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In fact, the offensive lineman could be out for a few weeks.

Peters is reportedly dealing with a chest injury, and while it’s uncertain when he suffered the ailment, Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com points out that the veteran lineman wasn’t on the injury report on Wednesday or Thursday.

The 40-year-old joined the Cowboys practice squad in early September and was promoted to the active roster later that month. With left tackle Tyron Smith sidelined with a hamstring injury, Peters saw an increased role between Week 3 and Week 4. After playing in 22 percent of his team’s offensive snaps against the Giants, he saw 34 percent of the snaps against the Commanders. Williams notes that Peters was expected to take on an ever bigger role in upcoming games, with the veteran expected to spell starting guards Connor McGovern and Zack Martin.

Of course, Peters has plenty of experience at offensive tackle, with the veteran having seen the majority of his 230 career games at LT. After more than a decade with the Eagles, Peters spent the 2021 season with the Bears, where he started all 15 of his games. Despite getting up there in age, Pro Football Focus still ranked him among the NFL’s best offensive tackles last year.

NFC East Notes: Peters, Cowboys, Smith, Commanders, Staff, Wentz, Eagles, Giants

September 28th, 2022 at 10:22am CST by Sam Robinson

Tyler Smith‘s transition from training camp left guard to September left tackle has changed the Cowboys‘ plans regarding Jason Peters. After viewing him as a swing tackle who could step in if Smith struggled, Peters worked at guard in his Dallas debut Monday. The plan is now for Peters to exclusively play guard, Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus notes. Monday’s 14-snap guard cameo represented Peters’ first in-game foray at a non-left tackle spot in over a decade. The Cowboys limited Peters’ workload due to only four practices working at guard, Kyed adds. An uptick should be expected in Week 4. It will be interesting how the Cowboys use Peters when Connor McGovern returns from his high ankle sprain; McGovern has missed the past two weeks. The team’s approach with Tyron Smith now becomes more intriguing as well, with the All-Pro left tackle not ruled out for the season. But Tyler Smith, who has always been viewed as the Cowboys’ left tackle of the future, has seized the blindside gig.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • The Eagles wrapped their Carson Wentz reunion with a nine-sack performance, shutting down the Commanders in a Week 3 rout. One of the reasons Wentz played just two seasons on his 2019 Philadelphia extension was his reluctance to play within the confines of Doug Pederson‘s system, Tim McManus of ESPN.com writes. Being stripped of in-game freedom irked the former No. 2 overall pick during his final Eagles season, McManus adds. Wentz audibles were an issue in Philly’s disastrous 2020 campaign, which saw him benched for second-round rookie Jalen Hurts. The Eagles, who traded Wentz to the Colts for first- and third-round picks, no longer have any dead money on their books from that transaction. Hurts will become extension-eligible in January; the Commanders remain committed to Wentz as their starter.
  • The Commanders are looking for a new COO. Greg Resh, who had worked in that role for just more than a year, left the organization recently, J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Resh left the team for a non-NFL job in Baltimore. This obviously comes at a rocky point for the franchise, which has seen owner Dan Snyder in Congress’ crosshairs. Resh is the 13th high-ranking Washington exec to leave the team over the past 18 months, Peter King of NBC Sports notes.
  • Former Buccaneers wide receiver/return specialist Cyril Grayson visited the Commanders, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Bucs waived Grayson with an injury settlement earlier this month. A former sprint standout at LSU, Grayson has bounced around the NFL since 2017. The 28-year-old speedster caught 10 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns last season.
  • Giants cornerback Rodarius Williams is eligible to return from IR next week. The 2021 sixth-round pick is recovering from knee surgery, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan (on Twitter). Williams dealt with a bone-spur issue during training camp, but Duggan adds he is moving well and could be ready to return in Week 5. The Giants would need to use one of their eight IR activations to bring Williams back.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/22

September 26th, 2022 at 7:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cowboys’ Jason Peters To Play In Week 3

September 26th, 2022 at 1:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

In the wake of Tyron Smith‘s injury, the Cowboys added Jason Peters as a stop-gap. The veteran will make his Dallas debut tonight, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). 

Peters will be not be manning the left tackle spot, however. The 40-year-old will move inside to left guard, something which the team has been experimenting with in the build-up to his debut. That news should ease his workload, something which will be further limited by keeping him on a pitch count (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News). It also signals confidence in first-round rookie Tyler Smith, who has played every snap on the blindside so far.

Gehlken also tweets that Peters is being signed to the Cowboys’ active roster from the practice squad. Dallas is elevating quarterback Will Grier and tight end Sean McKeon. If he sees the field, Peters will eat into Connor McGovern‘s playing time (if the latter is able to suit up after being sidelined last week), while resuming his efforts to transition inside – something which briefly took place in 2020 with the Eagles.

In other Cowboys news, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that wide receiver Michael Gallup will not play tonight (Twitter link). He has yet to play in 2022, as he continues to recover from knee surgery. Dallas could also be without tight end Dalton Schultz, who is dealing with a knee injury of his own; he will be a game-time decision. The absence of both would further hurt a Cowboys offense already missing Dak Prescott for at least one more week.

With Tyron Smith expected to be back before the end of the regular season, the Cowboys will have a decision to make regarding Tyler Smith, along with Peters and McGovern, down the road. For now, at least, the team will have options at both the tackle and guard spots, as Peters looks to begin the second chapter of his All-Pro career with his once-NFC East rival in a key divisional contest.

Cowboys Trying Jason Peters At Guard

September 22nd, 2022 at 2:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Viewed as an emergency Tyron Smith replacement, Jason Peters has been working at multiple positions during his ramp-up period. The Cowboys’ usage of Tyler Smith at left tackle in Weeks 1 and 2 could lead to the rookie staying there.

The team used Peters at a few positions in practice Thursday, Jon Machota of The Athletic tweets. While the Peters-at-LT plan may still be in play, Machota notes the veteran may be an option at left guard or right tackle going forward. Peters signed with the Cowboys days before Week 1 but has been ramping up to full activity since. It would seem the 40-year-old blocker is close to being activated.

A 19th-year veteran, Peters has been one of the best tackles of his era. His nine Pro Bowls and six first- or second-team All-Pro honors will probably lead to a spot in Canton. But the Eagles were prepared to play Peters at guard two years ago. Brandon Brooks‘ season-ending injury led to Peters re-signing to play between then-heir apparent left tackle Andre Dillard and center Jason Kelce. But Dillard’s subsequent injury scuttled that experiment, moving Peters back to the blindside spot.

That short 2020 stretch of offseason guard work could be relevant again. Tyler Smith has held his own at left tackle thus far. He matched up with the likes of Shaq Barrett and Trey Hendrickson, and Pro Football Focus, charging the first-round pick with just three pressures allowed thus far, has him ranked 27th among tackles. It is still early on that front, but right tackle Terence Steele ranks 15th. Peters kicking Tyler Smith back inside would create an interesting yo-yo pattern for the team’s left tackle of the future, but then again, Tyron Smith recovering from his avulsion fracture late this season would presumably do that.

Peters at left guard would mean either filling in for or replacing Connor McGovern. The contract-year guard missed Week 2 with a high ankle sprain. It would also represent new in-game frontier for Peters, whose role now becomes more interesting. He has started 218 career games, having not worked as a primary backup since 2005. While Peters broke into the Bills’ lineup as a right tackle that year, he has not worked as a regular on that side since the mid-2000s.

Latest On Cowboys’ Offensive Line

September 15th, 2022 at 10:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys are set to revisit their unfortunate lineup adjustment of 2020, when Dak Prescott missed much of the season. That year also involved both Dallas’ top tackles being out of the mix. With Prescott expected to be sidelined for several weeks and Tyron Smith out for months, the Cowboys’ 2022 situation is starting to look eerily similar to their 2020 setup — on offense, anyway.

But the team has higher-ceiling options up front this time around. First-round pick Tyler Smith made his debut at left tackle, and Pro Football Focus rated him just outside the top 40 at the position during his 69-snap debut. Smith still figures to move back to the guard spot at which he was initially pegged to begin the season. Jason Peters‘ ramp-up period might not last much longer.

[RELATED: Cowboys Won’t Place Prescott On IR]

“It depends on his evolving with his conditioning. He didn’t have camp, but, boy, am I glad we got him,” Jerry Jones said of Peters, during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan and RJ Show (via the Dallas Morning News). “We’ll have a spot for him. There’s no question that we’re going to be using him, before we’re out and maybe sooner rather than later.”

This puts to rest any concerns about Peters’ age (40) shutting down his viability as a Cowboys O-line option, and with Connor McGovern having suffered an injury in Week 1, the Cowboys need Peters ready ASAP. Peters remains on the team’s practice squad. That said, the Cowboys look to remain patient with Peters. His acclimation period is likely to continue into next week, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Peters has yet to go through team drills since joining the Cowboys.

As for McGovern, he suffered a high ankle sprain, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (on Twitter). The Cowboys have declared McGovern, who played just seven snaps in Week 1, out for their Week 2 game against the Bengals.

Dallas added Peters not long after Tyron Smith‘s avulsion fracture. The longtime Eagles blocker is expected to replace Smith at left tackle, but Jones said Peters would also be an option on the right side. Terence Steele is viewed as a potential long-term starter at right tackle, where he has taken over for La’el Collins, who is now with Cincinnati. An O-line featuring Peters, Tyler Smith, center Tyler Biadasz, All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and Steele appears to be Dallas’ best bet for now, though it will be interesting how the team plays it when McGovern returns.

“There’s a compatibility in play in staying at one spot, no matter how good a player you are. It lends itself to a better offensive line. But still I think we’ve done pretty good by having Peters come in there,” Jones said. “McGovern shouldn’t be long. He shouldn’t be out long, and we had a good job done by Smith, young Smith, and we got help on the way.”

This is McGovern’s contract year. He has bounced in and out of the Cowboys’ lineup since 2020, making 15 starts after missing his rookie year due to injury. The Cowboys could use McGovern as a swing player behind a Martin-Biadasz-Tyler Smith interior trio. Although the Penn State product was competing with Smith at left guard during training camp, it would be difficult to envision the Cowboys benching their first-round pick after already starting him. Peters’ form might dictate how the Cowboys proceed here as well. For now, the 19th-year veteran is tracking toward becoming a starter on a fourth NFL team.

Cowboys To Sign T Jason Peters

September 5th, 2022 at 8:04am CST by Sam Robinson

Days after Jason Peters‘ Cowboys visit, the parties agreed to terms. The 40-year-old left tackle will continue his career in Dallas, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

The former Bears, Eagles and Bills blocker will aim to fill the void left by Tyron Smith‘s injury. This will be Peters’ 19th NFL season. The Cowboys came into Labor Day holding the fourth-most cap space in the league (just more than $14MM). Some of it will go to Peters, who stands to play an important role in helping the Cowboys defend their NFC East title. Peters grew up in northeast Texas, making this a homecoming of sorts to potentially cap off a Hall of Fame career.

Not much of Dallas’ cap space, it turns out, will be needed for the time being. The team is giving Peters a ramp-up period, with CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson adding (via Twitter) Monday’s deal is a practice squad agreement. Since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the NFL to expand practice squads to 16 players, teams have increasingly used it as a way to add veterans ahead of promotions to the active roster. The Cowboys will be the latest team to take this route.

This transaction marks the third straight year in which Peters found a deal after waiting in free agency for months. He re-signed with the Eagles in July 2020 and joined the Bears in August of last year. The longtime Philly mainstay will now get to work on helping the Cowboys hold off an Eagles team that saw Smith’s injury strengthen its chances of winning the division.

This week’s vested veteran guarantee is a factor here as well. Vets’ salaries become guaranteed if on a 53-man roster this week, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes the Cowboys had not planned to add a free agent tackle until Week 2 (Twitter link). It opens the door to an unusual scenario in which the Cowboys start a rookie at left tackle in Week 1 before promoting Peters to play there.

Smith’s avulsion fracture, which he sustained August 24, is expected to sideline him until at least December. The 12th-year tackle has undergone surgery. With it being possible the perennial Pro Bowler will miss the season, the Cowboys were left scrambling. They had been belatedly preparing first-round pick Tyler Smith to begin his run as Tyron’s blindside heir apparent early. Jerry Jones said last week it was “safe to say” the Tulsa-developed rookie would start at left tackle, via Jon Machota of The Athletic (on Twitter). Peters either gives the Cowboys high-profile insurance, or a scenario in which the first-rounder moves back to left guard once Peters is ready emerges.

Peters does not represent the safest of bets here; injuries have cropped up fairly frequently during the latter half of the acclaimed performer’s career. He missed eight games in 2020 and only played in seven during the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII-winning season. But he is coming off a 15-game season in Chicago. The Bears added Peters in the wake of Teven Jenkins‘ back injury, and the veteran produced what Pro Football Focus graded as a top-25 tackle season. While this did not draw too much attention, as the Bears struggled in 2021, it showed Peters remained a viable left tackle option for a contending team. Peters indicated this offseason he wanted to play an age-40 season, and the Cowboys’ need looks to have created that opportunity.

The Eagles had Peters tied to high-end contracts for most of his 12-year stay with the franchise, but the UDFA success story played last season on a one-year, $1.75MM deal. It will be interesting to see how much Cowboys wind up paying him, once this P-squad agreement translates to an active-roster promotion. Duane Brown signed a two-year, $20MM deal to be Mekhi Becton‘s emergency fill-in. Becton’s avulsion fracture is expected to sideline him for the season. Brown is also a decorated left tackle and is three years younger than Peters, but the latter is a nine-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.

As the Cowboys currently employ two All-Decade tackles and All-Decade guard Zack Martin, they have Terence Steele ready to take over for La’el Collins on the right side and Connor McGovern prepared to start at left guard. Peters (218 career starts) moving into Dallas’ lineup would likely bump McGovern down to a swing player.

If/when Peters moves up to Dallas’ 53-man roster and suits up for a game, he would join only three other tackles to play an age-40 season. Andrew Whitworth, who turned 40 late in his final season, joins only Ray Brown and Hall of Famer Jackie Slater in accomplishing this rare feat.

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