Jerry Jones Says Travis Frederick ‘Will Start’ For Dallas Cowboys
By Mike Dyce
November 24, 2012; University Park, PA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers center Travis Frederick (72) gets ready to snap the ball during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys were active again in the first round trading draft picks. This time they made a deal with the San Francisco 49ers to move back in the draft to the #31 pick. They used that to pick the versatile interior offensive lineman Travis Frederick. He played both guard and center for the University of Wisconsin.
“I had hoped we could come out of this thing with a legitimate starter, a legitimate starter, and he will start,” owner/general manager Jerry Jones said, via ESPN Dallas. “He will start. First-rounder and not starting? I know coach wants there to be competition and should be, and we all know that’s the way it is.”
Where he’ll play in Dallas still is to be determined. They brought in Ryan Cook last season after injuries where he played center in place for Phil Costa. Supposedly the Cowboys and Romo liked Cook at center last season. They could move Cook to guard, but if they leave him at center that means Frederick will be moving to guard.
Last offseason the Cowboys signed guards Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau, both were disappointing in their first season in Dallas. Likely it is one of these two that are going to lose their job.
But the coaches are still trying to figure out where they want him to play along the offensive line.
“We’re going to put a base in there where you don’t have a knock-back issue,” Jones said. “Bill Callahan is a big center guy. After your left tackle, he likes the center position as far as the best players on the offensive line. Well, we’ve got Costa. We’re pretty proud of Costa, frankly. Well, can this guy play guard? You bet he can.”
“Because he has position flex and has played a full season at either spot, we feel good about maybe plugging him in at either spot and having him compete with the guys on our roster,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “We haven’t made that determination right now. We like competition, as you guys know, and he’ll certainly be very much in the mix.”