9:15am: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Smith’s injury is an avulsion fracture of the knee, similar to the one which ended Jets tackle Mekhi Becton‘s year. The required surgery will keep him out until at least December, though it remains in doubt if Smith plays at all in 2022.
1:03am: The Cowboys will be without their All-Pro left tackle for a lengthy stretch. Tyron Smith suffered a torn hamstring during the team’s Wednesday practice, Todd Archer and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com report.
Smith’s latest injury could sideline him for months. This will mark the second severe Smith injury in three seasons; he missed 14 games in 2020 due to a neck injury. This latest Smith health-related development is a massive blow to the Cowboys’ offense, which was already set to begin the season without key personnel. More tests are on tap Thursday.
Going into his 12th season as Dallas’ left tackle, Smith is on the back nine of what could well be a Hall of Fame career. The former first-round pick landed on the 2010s’ All-Decade team and has eight Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro nods on his resume. Following the 2020 neck injury, Smith returned to the Pro Bowl last season. But injuries have steadily dogged the veteran blocker. He has missed 32 games over the past six seasons, including six last year.
Dallas has Smith tied to the same contract he signed way back in 2014 — the oldest active NFL deal — but began preparing for the future this year. The team drafted Tulsa tackle Tyler Smith in Round 1. The younger Smith was expected to line up alongside the 31-year-old vet, competing for left guard duty. But a future move to left tackle — his college position — is in the cards. That future could begin early. Two seasons remain on Tyron Smith‘s 10-year deal.
Tyler Smith was not a lock to beat out veteran guard Connor McGovern for the left guard job, with Mike McCarthy indicating Wednesday that McGovern would win that job if the season started today. But Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes the rookie made a strong case for the gig during Dallas’ second preseason game. Tyler Smith has also missed recent practice time with an ankle malady.
Eric Fisher resides as a tackle who could generate interest as a stopgap, if the Cowboys do not want to turn to their first-round rookie just yet. Fisher is a nine-year starter who spent 2021 as the Colts’ first-stringer. Jason Peters and Nate Solder are also unsigned. The former, despite turning 40 this year, said during the offseason he hoped to play this season.
The Cowboys are turning to 2020 starter Terence Steele at right tackle, where he will replace longtime starter La’el Collins. The team used a fifth-round pick on tackle Matt Waletzko and has second-year tackle Josh Ball in the picture as well. They also will begin the season without wideouts Michael Gallup and James Washington.
Good thing they released La’el Collins to save basically no money. Smart.
Yup. Just about 10 mil in cap space. Peanuts.
Ok they saved a good amount of money. Still looked like a stupid move at the time and looks even worse in retrospect.
Oh I’m with you all the way there. I thought they might do something productive with that cash like…I dunno…sign a replacement.
There’s no reason that hamstring pulls and ankle sprains should dominate the pre-season year after year. Money spent on trainers is basically wasted if conditioning programs for players aren’t educating them on how to reduce the risk of these injuries.
While training camp is going on… go run a lap around your block every day. Don’t go crazy just a jog even around your block. Try it for 60 days. I’ll put money you pull a hamstring. SMH. IT happens
If running a lap around the block for 60 days straight is going to cause someone to pull a hamstring, then they are grossly out of shape.
Guys aren’t getting injured because they aren’t educated enough in reducing risk. All the training, conditioning, and savvy in the world isn’t going to stop NFL football from having some severe injuries.
It’s a violent sport and everyone accepts that contact injuries are part of the price of participating. These non contact injuries are preventable yet they dominate every pre-season. It’s seems ridiculous that this should be case with all the advances that have been made in sports science.
Sports science has not made non-contact injuries preventable for any football player, let alone one with a decade of NFL lineman wear and tear.
Lol this is the most couch potato response to an elite athlete injury I’ve ever read.
Blaming trainers for workout regimens to keep players in shape are worthless if these $$$multi million dollar guys don’t use the regimens or only when they want to…..blaming trainers is like blaming the the ocean for the Titanic sinking!
I’m certainly no fitness expert, but isn’t it at least possible that repeated stress on a body part can cause injury?
I mean, how many WR’s, RB’s and DB’s have tore an ACL in non-contact situations? You can’t tell me guys are getting injured in drills or practice, when they’re not even overly stressed, and it’s the result of poor training.
F, ouch
Howie should get on the phone and see if he can wrangle a 1st rounder for Dillard. No way I take less.
If Dallas rolls with Tyler Smith at LT, they’re going to have a rough season offensively. He’s not going to be able to handle NFL speed rushers, and he’s going to be a guy that gets flagged a lot for holding. He may grow into the role, but Jerry better ask himself if he wants to gamble with Dak while he tries.
Tyler Smith is a holding penalty waiting to happen, but I bet he isn’t worse than the meathead the Saints drafted to start at LT.
Are we comparing them both as LTs? If so, I’d much rather have Penning. He lacks focus at times and needs to clean up his hands, but he’ll be the better LT, I think. Now move Smith to guard, or maybe even RT, and I’d take Smith. I think his weaknesses would be better hid and his strengths better utilized.
Not sure why this would be a Hall of Fame career. To what championships Tyron Smith has contributed?
Yes, a good player but hardly the stuff of legends. Looks like Dallas is in big trouble as it’s offensive line falls apart before the season starts.
To what championships did Dan Marino contribute? That’s a silly way to look at hall of fame candidacy. He was the best left tackle in football at his peak and been overall excellent at the position over a decade long career. Sure, he’s struggled to stay healthy in recent years, but he’s already played 20+ games more than recent inductee Tony Boselli did.
Time for a new LT, Jerry.
How funny that NFL insiders know the precise details of injuries whose privacy is supposedly covered by HIPAA laws – but cannot find out where Tom Brady has been for two weeks.
I thought that mystery was solved with the masked singer story from a few days ago.
NFL teams are required to report injuries as soon as they know the extent. Smith suffered the injury in a game, and the policies and procedures for this stuff has all been collectively bargained. The information is released publicly for betting odds. There’s nothing here that would be a HIPPA violation, and all an “insider” would have to do is know the right person to get an early scoop.
I could be wrong, but if a player requests time for personal reasons, I believe all they have to say is “personal reasons”.