Dallas Cowboys: Travis Frederick comeback critical to offense’s success

ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 09: Travis Frederick #72 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 09: Travis Frederick #72 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Dallas Cowboys unexpected were forced to play without Travis Frederick last season, but his potential return in 2019 could give the offense a boost.

Despite having Dak Prescott, even after the Amari Cooper trade and even with the defense emerging as a potentially elite unit, the Dallas Cowboys‘ identity remains with their offensive line in front of Ezekiel Elliott. At full strength, the line is arguably the best unit in the league, blocking for one of the best running backs in the NFL. The issue, however, is that they weren’t at full-strength in 2018 with center Travis Frederick out.

Frederick, the 31st overall pick in 2013 by the Cowboys, missed all of the 2018 season after a shocking diagnosis that said the center had Guillain-Barre syndrome, an auto-immune disorder that affects the central nervous system. Following that, Frederick went to work to try and get back to full health, which meant not suiting up for Dallas.

Given the unexpected nature of the diagnosis, Joe Looney stepped in and played admirably. In fact, there were multiple games where Looney was downright good. However, at no point was Looney the consistent or dominant force that Frederick, a four-time Pr Bowler, is when healthy and manning the middle of the offensive line.

After sitting out the 2018 season, though, Frederick appears to be nearing a return. Talking with DallasCowboys.com in mid-February, the Wisconsin product talked about working out with the Cowboys this spring. The big man had this to say about his looming return:

"“I don’t know if it’s going to be 100 percent full go. I don’t if it’s going to be some. We’re just going to kind of feel it out sort of as we’ve felt this whole process.”"

He later went on to talk about how his recovery has come along and where he was/is physically:

"“I’m to the point now where I can do almost everything that I’ve been able to do previously,” he said. “Now, am I running at my top speed? I don’t know because I haven’t hit that number. Am I jumping as high as I have? I’m not sure yet. But once we get back in March and April we’ll get a good feeling on where things are.”"

Not only does that sound like a player who is on the road back to playing, but it sounds like that process is coming along quite well. That’s great news for the Cowboys if that’s the case.

Again, Dallas’ bread and butter on the offensive side of the ball is utilizing Elliott and the run game. Frederick allows the Cowboys elite versatility in that regard with his power and athleticism at center. He takes the unit from being still very good without him to being unquestionably elite with him.

Because of that, watching Frederick’s comeback this offseason is something that Cowboys fans should be invested in. With spring offseason workouts looming, seeing where he is and how he looks could have a tremendous impact on the season, as well as providing an inspirational spark for the team to get one of their veteran cogs and leaders back on the field.