Before Tony Romo stole the spotlight with his exodus from his NFL playing career, Doug Free was the first Dallas Cowboy to announce his retirement this offseason. On Monday, the former Cowboys starting right tackle made a public statement on his retirement, confirming those intentions with 105.3 The Fan.

Free's '100-%' Finished: The Scoop On Passing His @DallasCowboys Leadership Baton To Frederick https://t.co/Ad7NYr72di — mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) April 17, 2017

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. 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.