The Dallas Cowboys are on the verge of pulling off a surprisingly rare feat. For the first time in what feels like an eternity, the team has a legitimate shot at returning the exact same five starting offensive linemen for two consecutive season openers. This is a massive shift from the recent trend of rookie additions and constant shuffling that has made the starting lineup look a revolving door of fresh faces and shifting roles. With no foreseeable shakeups to the starting offensive line, the Cowboys stand
a chance of rolling out the same usual suspects again this season, featuring LT Tyler Guyton, LG Tyler Smith, C Cooper Beebe, RG Tyler Booker, and RT Terence Steele.
It is genuinely hard to wrap your head around how rare this level of continuity is for this franchise. You have to go all the way back to the 2014 and 2015 seasons to find the last time the same five guys trotted out for the start of back-to-back years. That group featured LT Tyron Smith, LG Ronald Leary, C Travis Frederick, RG Zack Martin, and RT Doug Free. And even that moment of stability was fleeting. Ronald Leary didn’t even make it through the 2015 season opener before an injury forced him out, paving the way for a young rookie named La’el Collins to step in. Even when they think they have it all figured out, the injury bug can show up and bite them.
Trying to find another instance of back-to-back Week 1 stability leads you down a rabbit hole that honestly doesn’t seem to end anywhere. After digging through archives and scrolling back as far as 1980, it became clear that this just does not happen in Dallas. Even the legendary Great Wall of Dallas, which everyone remembers as a brick wall of consistency during the Super Bowl years of the ’90s, dealt with constant personnel changes. Whether it was a departure in free agency or a training camp battle, someone was always stepping up to fill a new hole in the line.
The reasons for this 45+ year potpourri of linemen are as varied as they are heartbreaking. In 1994, the team lost one of its most dominant forces when Erik Williams was involved in a near-fatal car accident. The physical toll of that crash forced him into retirement, ending what could have been a much longer run of dominance for that specific unit. It was a sobering reminder of how quickly a sure thing can disappear.
The team came close in 2008, but the health issues struck again. Kyle Kosier was set to return to his spot at left guard until a preseason game changed everything. He suffered a hairline fracture in his foot, which sidelined him for the season opener and ruined any chance of the group staying identical to the previous year.
During the era of Great Wall 2.0, the group was elite but always in flux. While most of the group was usually set in stone, the left guard position was in constant change. Between the rotations involving Ronald Leary, Jonathan Cooper, and even La’el Collins for a stretch, the team just could not find that one steady lineup to carry over from year to year.
Just when it seemed like Connor Williams would finally stabilize that pesky guard spot, tragedy struck elsewhere. Travis Frederick received the devastating diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome. His absence forced Joe Looney to step into the center spot not just once, but twice, after Frederick made a valiant attempt to return before eventually deciding to hang up his cleats for good.
In the most recent seasons, the team has been tantalizingly close to keeping the group together, but health remains the ultimate gatekeeper. Tyron Smith is a future Hall of Famer, but his late-career struggles with various injuries meant the team always had to adjust, prioritizing having a competent swing tackle on the roster. Every time fans thought the five stars were aligned, a practice report would surface and keep the coaching staff on their toes with contingency plans.
Now, the Cowboys have a chance to do something that might be unprecedented in the modern era of the franchise. If this current group can survive the grind of training camp and have all five members start and finish the season opener together, it will break a cycle that has lasted at least four decades. It might even be the first time in team history that a unit has truly stayed this static and healthy during the transition between seasons.
At the end of the day, continuity is the secret sauce of offensive line play. These guys have to move like synchronized swimmers, where every step and hand placement is critical for the success of the play. Constantly swapping out parts creates chemistry challenges that can derail an offense in a hurry. This group has a real opportunity to keep that momentum rolling and build a level of trust that only comes from shared experience. If they can stay upright, then so can Dak Prescott, and good things are more likely to happen.
