As Travis Frederick fades off into the sunset, so to may the Dallas Cowboys hopes for the 2020 season.
In a shocking turn of events, Travis Frederick retired from the NFL this week at only 29 years of age. The former Dallas Cowboys standout center had played only 6 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro-Bowl 5 years and being named an All-Pro 3 times. Now the Dallas Cowboys have a huge hole to fill in hopes of achieving lofty expectations for 2020.
The news does not seem to have come as much of a surprise for the organization as it was for the fans. This past week, the Dallas Cowboys re-signed back-up center Joe Looney. They also drafted Connor McGovern in 2019 who has experience in college playing center and they also have other linemen with center experience in Adam Redmond and Zack Martin, The Dallas Cowboys will not be able to find a suitable replacement for Frederick in free agency or in the draft so it is likely that they will not address this position further.
Travis Frederick’s decision to retire was partially health related. He had missed the entire 2018 season after being diagnosed with the rare Guillain-Barre Syndrome. He came back in 2019 and although he did not play at quite the same level as he did before he contracted the disease, he still earned another trip to the Pro-Bowl. Apparently, Travis Frederick did not feel that he performed well enough as he stated in his address (below) that ‘Each day I faced a struggle. I could no longer perform at my highest level. Playing well is not what I expect of myself and not what my teammates deserve.”
Most people did not expect that Travis Frederick would return to his usual form the year after his diagnosis with Guillain-Barre. In fact, it was expected that it would take an additional year or longer to fully recover. The fact that Frederick recognized that his level of play was not to his standard and considered the impact on his teammates shows what exceptional character he has. His teammate and fellow All-Pro offensive linemen Zack Martin spoke to this when he penned this thank you letter:
When Travis Frederick was first drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, many fans including myself were less than thrilled about his acquisition. in the 2013 NFL Draft the Dallas Cowboys had an opportunity to draft Sharrif Floyd, a defensive lineman projected to be a top 5 pick who ended up falling into the Cowboys lap at pick #18. The Cowboys opted not to draft Floyd and instead traded back to pick #31 adding only a third round pick in the process. When Frederick was selected in the first round, Cowboy fans and draft experts were critical of the move. Drafting a center in the first round was simply not a common occurrence. Frederick proved his critics wrong immediately starting every game as a rookie and solidifying what was once a struggling offensive line. He went on to become an All-Pro in 2014, an honor he accomplished three times in total. He was voted to the Pro-Bowl in every other season he played aside from the season he missed in 2018 and was on the trajectory to a Hall of Fame career. He excelled not only because of his talent as a football player but because of his intelligence, quick diagnosis and processing on the field, and his ability to communicate to his offensive linemen and quarterback.
I have had the privilege to meet Travis on two occasions and on both of those I came away extremely impressed with his personality and demeanor. Travis Frederick retired too soon for us Cowboys fans and he will be missed sorely. He will be missed by his teammates. His presence as the leader and quarterback of the offensive line make him irreplaceable. In any case, best of luck to one of my favorite Dallas Cowboys and congratulations on a brilliant but brief career.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso All-Pro Reels https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode