Travis Frederick: Cowboys center out indefinitely with rare autoimmune disorder

Dallas Cowboys starting center Travis Frederick, who has been dealing with stingers during training camp, posted an update on his health status on Wednesday evening. Via his official Twitter account:

“After a very extensive examination and discovery process over the past few weeks, I have been diagnosed with having Guillain Barre Syndrome which is an auto immune disease. In the last 48 hours, I have received two treatments that address my condition, and I am feeling much better from an overall strength perspective. I will continue these treatments over the next few days. I am very optimistic about my condition and the immediate future, as I have been told that the illness was detected at a fairly early stage. My doctors have told me that it is not possible to determine a time table for a return to the field right now, but I am hopeful that I will be able to play as soon as possible. I am deeply grateful for all of the people who have expressed concern for me throughout the past four weeks, and my teammates and the Cowboys organization have provided me and my family with tremendous support.”

Damn. That’s no good.

Here’s more on the condition via WebMD:

Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a problem with your nervous system. It can cause muscle weakness, reflex loss, and numbness or tingling in parts of your body. It can lead to paralysis, which is usually temporary. Most people recover, even those with severe cases. In fact, 85% of people with GBS make a full recovery within 6 to 12 months. Once you get better, the chance of it returning is very small.

Frederick, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, is obviously one of the Cowboys’ best players. It’s a significant loss for Dallas if he has to miss time.

Here’s hoping that Frederick returns to the field soon. Even though he’s an “enemy” of the Philadelphia Eagles, no one should want to see him going through what he’s going through right now.

Instead, let’s root for Frederick to get back healthy. Then we can fairly root against him on game day when the Eagles play the Cowboys twice this year.

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UPDATE: ESPN is reporting Frederick “could miss multiple weeks of the season.” If that’s the case, Joe Looney will start at center. Looney ranked 44th out of 46 centers in PFF’s pass blocking efficiency metric when he last played extensively, which was back in 2015.