Glass half-full: Maliek Collins’ broken foot comes at a good time, enabling him to recover and rehab in time for the regular-season opener.
Glass half-empty: Maliek Collins’ broken foot comes at a bad time, keeping him out of off-season work which will put him behind in a rookie season in which he’ll never catch up.
Reality: Glass half-empty guy is a buzzkill.
The defensive tackle with potential and promise suffered a major setback when he underwent surgery on his broken right foot last week. But for a change I’ll be glass half-full guy and predict that the time off from Dallas’ OTAs won’t be a road-block for Collins but merely a detour.
“It does set you back, but if it had to happen at a certain time, it’s better it happened now,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli told ESPN.com about Collins’ injury. “He’s a hard-nosed guy, good attitude with him. He’s tough. He’ll bounce back fast I think.”
Suffering the same injury that ruined Dez Bryant’s season in 2016, Collins will be sidelined for up to 12 weeks. In 2014 DeMarcus Lawrence suffered a broken foot in training camp and missed the first seven games of his rookie season.
This injury is a particular shame, because along Dallas’ weak defensive line he had a legitimate chance at quality playing time. But in the big picture, it’s better to lose Collins now than in the regular season.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
