Leary on Position Battle with Collins: Starting LG Spot “Is Mine”

Through the first week of camp, left guard Ronald Leary has made it abundantly clear that he intends to hold onto his starting job.

Leary was the starter on last year’s team, which was widely viewed as having perhaps the best offensive line in football, so he’s no slouch. But when the team brought in La’el Collins after the draft, a first round talent, it was widely assumed that he would take over that starting left guard spot.

“I think Ron has responded really well,” head coach Jason Garrett said, per the Dallas Morning News. “It’s about competition. We make it abundantly clear with everybody on our team it’s our job to constantly look for guys who make the Dallas Cowboys football team better. Period. So it’s going to be competitive. It’s going to be competitive within the guys who are on our team already. It’s going to be competitive with guys who aren’t on our team who we think might be able to come in and make our team better. The standard is going to be high, the competition is going to be high and that’s what they need to expect. That’s what we’re going to do each and every day. I think Ron understands that and I think he’s responded really well to it.”

Leary had a less diplomatic assessment of the position battle.

“It is mine,” Leary said. “Definitely.”

Leary admits he was bothered to some degree by the assumption that Collins would take the job.

“It bothered me a little bit, but it’s part of the game,” Leary said. “I know I can play. I know I’m a starter in this league. I’ve just got to remind everybody.”

So far in camp, that’s exactly what Leary has done.