The Dallas Cowboys had a couple of injury scares this week to Center Travis Frederick and Safety Jeff Heath, two players they can ill afford to lose for any length of time. I know it may sound a little strange to link those two players together, but they are without a doubt detrimental to the Cowboys success this year.
Earlier this week Jeff Heath had to leave practice due to an ankle injury. Luckily, it wasn't serious and he shouldn't have any lingering issues heading into the season.
The Dallas Cowboys may have dodged a bullet here. Even a high ankle sprain for Heath would've put his readiness for the season opener in jeopardy. He may miss this week's preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals as a precaution, but should be ready to go for their “dress rehearsal” game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cowboys simply don't have the depth at safety to have anything to happen to Jeff Heath, or Xavier Woods and Kavon Frazier for that matter. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all there is at the safety position right now. It's one of the reasons why everybody is holding out hope for an Earl Thomas trade, besides the obvious of him being an immediate upgrade.
The Jeff Heath injury was definitely scary when it initially happened, but the Travis Frederick news made my heart sink. Frederick has been supposedly been dealing with a stinger issue that has plagued him throughout training camp. He missed yesterday's practice to try to figure out what's going on, but as of yet we are left waiting on a ledge ready to jump.
Travis Frederick is without a doubt one of the most important players for the Dallas Cowboys, and like with Jeff Heath, there is a serious lack of depth behind him. No offense to Joe Looney, but he is a huge downgrade and drastically changes what the Cowboys can do offensively.
To make matters worse, there really isn't a lot of players on the open market right now who can come in and help at either position. Yes, Eric Reid could help out at safety, but I seriously doubt Dallas goes down that road with the way he's handled the national anthem protest. And unfortunately, there isn't a single Free Agent center I would consider bringing in.
For now, we can take comfort in knowing Jeff Heath's injury isn't serious. He will return to the field in no time, but unfortunately we will have to hold our breath anxiously waiting to find out what's going on with Travis Frederick.
The Dallas Cowboys may have improved their depth at quite a few positions during the offseason, but unfortunately safety and center weren't two of them. Hopefully, this won't end up biting them in the butt this year.
