Free confirms retirement

mcnuttz

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Cowboys RT Doug Free confirms intentions to retire, passes torch to Travis Frederick


Former Cowboys RT Doug Free announced his retirement earlier this offseason On Monday, the former Cowboys made a public statement on his retirement on 105.3 The Fan In his statement, he said that he is passing the baton to Cowboys offensive lineman Travis Frederick.

Free played 10 seasons for the Cowboys after being selected out of Northern Illinois University in the fourth round of the 2007 draft.

Since 2010, Doug Free started every Cowboys game he was active for, making 107 regular-season starts. He missed five games in 2011 with an injury. He has been recognized as a leader of the offensive line group for over half a decade, as the club rebuilt the unit following the era of Flozell Adams and Leonard Davis.

Of note in the Scout.com piece linked above is the tidbit about passing his leadership baton to Cowboys All-Pro center Travis Frederick.
"It's his (offensive line meeting) room now,'' Free said, nodding his head across the room toward center Travis Frederick in a typical-of-Free quiet and classy passing of the Big Brother baton. There’s a void of leadership among the offense with the retirement of Romo and Free, so it is only natural some younger guys begin to ascend to the ranks of leaders to complement the leadership of Jason Witten and Dez Bryant.

As far as bodies along the offensive line, Chaz Green is expected to fill the void of Free. A 2015 third-round pick out of Florida, Green has an injury history that keeps his ascension etched in pencil for the time being. The Cowboys signed Byron Bell, an undrafted tackle out of the University of New Mexico who has started 72 games in his career. He’s spent time with the Titans most recently in 2015 and the Carolina Panthers before that.




 
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