IRVING, Texas -- Rookie offensive lineman La'el Collins wasn't activated last week against the New York Giants. Normally, no questions are raised when an undrafted free agent like Collins misses the first week or so, but given his first-round grade and the team's high hopes for him, it raised some concerns as to why the club chose to activate veteran Mackenzy Bernadeau over Collins.
With starting left guard Ron Leary listed as doubtful for Sunday's game in Philadelphia, Collins is hopeful he can suit up for his first regular season game.
"I simply went out and did everything that was asked of me," said Collins. "I feel like I'm physically capable of everything. And just come out and take everything one day at a time and focus on everything I need to focus on."
Head coach Jason Garrett said in his daily presser that the decision to activate Collins will carry over into Sunday.
"We'll practice today and take this decision to Sunday," Garrett said. "Everybody has to be ready to play. LC has done a good job. He's made a lot of strides as a young player. He's gotten a heck of a lot better since he's got here. But again we will evaluate what happens today in practice and the health of the guys available to us and make our best decision."
"The one thing about the Dallas Cowboys and this organization is they won't put you on the field unless you know every single thing," Collins said. "They won't put you on the field if you don't know this or you don't know that. You've got to know it to the best of your ability. And you've got to go out there and be able to react and just play free. So, just being able to do that week in and week out ever since camp has been great. And I just look forward to every day going out and getting better."
One of the chief reasons Bernadeau got the nod over Collins was his ability to play center. Such versatility prevents the Cowboys from having to shuffle their offensive line entirely if something were to happen to center Travis Frederick. With Bernadeau, the Cowboys would be able to plug him in at center instead of sliding right guard Zack Martin over and finding someone to fill Martin's vacated spot.
A lifelong Cowboys fan from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Collins would be very excited if he got to play Sunday against the Eagles.
"I'm extremely excited. I can't wait. This weekend is going to be huge. So, I look forward to it and I still look forward to it. I just want to go out and go contribute the best that I can."
