Ronald Leary

Ronald Leary
No. 65 Dallas Cowboys
Position: Guard
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-04-29) April 29, 1989
Place of birth: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school: Southern University Lab (LA)
College: Memphis
Undrafted: 2012
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2016
Games played: 39
Games started: 38
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Ronald Leary (born April 29, 1989) is an American football guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for The University of Memphis.

Early years

Leary didn't start playing organized football until his junior year at Southern University Lab High School, where he earned All-State and All-District honors. He also lettered in basketball.

He accepted a scholarship to play college football at The University of Memphis. As a redshirt freshman, he was a backup for the left and right tackle positions. The next year he was named the starter at left tackle, where he would remain for the most part of his college career, while making 36 consecutive starts.

During his senior season, he underwent surgery in May 2011 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, but didn't miss any games. He ended protecting three different quarterbacks, while starting the first six games at left tackle, before switching to right guard when injuries impacted the offensive line. He was named second-team All-Conference USA and shared team MVP honors with Dontari Poe.

Professional career

Leary wasn't selected in the 2012 NFL Draft because of a degenerative left knee condition (osteochondritis dissecans),[1] that could potentially shorten his career. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys with the intention of playing him at guard.[2] To secure the signing that was seen as a coup, because he was graded as a third round talent,.[3] the Cowboys gave him a $9,000 signing bonus and guaranteed $205,000 of his $390,000 base salary.[4]

He was waived on August 30, 2012 and signed to the team's practice squad.[5] He was promoted to the active roster on December 21, for the last two games of the season.

Leary entered the 2013 offseason ready to compete for a starting job on the offensive line. He was getting first-team reps at left guard ahead of an injured Nate Livings, before needing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee during preseason.[6] After missing two weeks, he returned in time to start in the season opener against the New York Giants and proceeded to start in all 16 games at left guard.

In 2014, he earned the left guard starting role over Mackenzy Bernadeau and was a part of arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. His best game came against the Houston Texans, when he contained defensive player of the year J.J. Watt.[7]

In 2015, Leary faced competition for his position from La'el Collins, one of the top prospect of the 2015 NFL Draft until rumors about a police investigation made him dropped and was eventually signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cowboys.

Although he suffered from a groin injury in training camp, Leary remained the starter at left guard in 3 of the first 5 games of the season, with his groin strain forcing him to miss the second and third games. Even though he tried to recover quickly from his health problems, he could not overcome them and it affected his play, opening the door for Collins being named the starter during the week 6 bye. Leary would be declared inactive for 10 straight games. He started in the last game against the Washington Redskins in place of an injured Collins, but left in the third quarter after suffering a concussion and was replaced by Mackenzy Bernadeau.

References

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