Cowboys Still Looking For Answers At LT
It wasn’t long ago that the Cowboys were the go-to example for how to assemble an offensive line with talent from top-to-bottom. Time is the enemy of team builders, though, as top talent either retires, gets injured, or outplays the price a team can afford to pay. Currently, the Cowboys are hoping to get some answers over the summer as they attempt to reestablish their offensive line as a top unit in the NFL.
The biggest question mark in Dallas comes at left tackle, where the Cowboys have been hoping to see 2024 first-round tackle Tyler Guyton establish himself over the past two seasons. The Oklahoma product was the eighth tackle taken two years ago at 29th overall. In his first two seasons, Pro Football Focus graded him as the 73rd best tackle out of 81 players graded at the position in 2024 and 67th of 84 last year.
To make matters worse, Guyton has struggled to stay on the field in Years 1 and 2. He opened his rookie season as the starting left tackle after Chuma Edoga got hurt in the preseason but experienced a couple knee and shoulder injuries that forced him to miss practice and just opened the door for Edoga to reclaim the starting role to close the season. Guyton returned to the starting lineup to start Year 2, but he only played 10 games before an ankle injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Dallas established this offseason that Guyton would be competing with Nathan Thomas to retain the starting role. Thomas, a seventh-round pick in Guyton’s draft out of Louisiana, opened the 2025 campaign as the primary backup on the blindside. After Guyton went down, Thomas filled in and started the next three games at left tackle. Unfortunately, Thomas’ play left quite a bit to be desired as PFF ranked him 83rd out of 84 tackles last year, and the team asked second-team All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith to slide out to the left tackle spot he had manned his rookie year as an injury replacement for Tyron Smith.
The Cowboys need Guyton or Thomas not only to convincingly win the starting job but also to prove they can stay on the field as the starter and avoid the injury issues of the past two seasons. Jon Machota of The Athletic asserts that, if neither third-year lineman can achieve both objectives, Dallas will likely have to slide Smith back out to his old left tackle position. This solution would only shift the issue to the interior, though, where a guard spot would now be in question. The Cowboys have expressed their interest in keeping Smith inside, but if Guyton and Thomas can’t become reliable starters, the team may not have a choice.
Tyler Guyton, Nate Thomas Competing For Cowboys’ LT Position
Tyler Guyton has totaled 21 starts at left tackle early in his career. It is not certain he will remain atop the depth chart heading into his third Cowboys season, however.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Thursday (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) Guyton and Nate Thomas will compete for the starting gig at left tackle this offseason. Spring workouts are underway already, but the evaluation for offensive and defensive linemen in particular will of course truly begin during padded practices in training camp. That period will be critical for Guyton.
Schottenheimer offered praise for the 2024 first-rounder based on how things have gone so far in offseason work. Guyton will nevertheless need to earn his first-team position this summer. Penalties and sacks allowed were issues during his rookie campaign. While the Oklahoma product managed to improve in both areas in 2025, his PFF evaluation for last year left plenty to be desired.
Guyton will enter training camp as the favorite to retain starting duties at left tackle, Jon Machota of The Athletic writes. 2026 will mark his age-25 season, and improved play would be critical in stabilizing the blindside for Dallas now and in the future. It would also make the Cowboys’ fifth-round option decision easier in Guyton’s case, of course; a call on that front will need to be made next spring.
Thomas was also taken in the 2024 draft, joining Dallas as a seventh-rounder. After not playing during his rookie campaign, Thomas appeared in all 17 games last season (totaling four starts). The Louisiana alum drew poor PFF grades for his pass protection in particular, so expectations would be tempered in the event he were to begin 2026 on the blindside. Machota writes fourth-round rookie Drew Shelton could also see looks at left tackle if needed.
A contingency could be for the Cowboys to move Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith to left tackle. As Smith recently told Schottenheimer (via the team’s website), though, his preference would be to remain on the inside on a permanent basis. Machota confirms Smith playing at tackle is a scenario neither team nor player would prefer. As a result, the performances of Guyton and Thomas will be worth monitoring closely over the course of the summer.
Cowboys Prefer To Keep Tyler Smith At LG; LT Competition Expected
The Cowboys are returning all five of their starting offensive lineman from the 2025 season, but left tackle Tyler Guyton is not assured to keep his job after a disappointing start to his career.
Guyton, 24, played right tackle at Oklahoma before he was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round (No. 29 overall) of the 2024 draft. He was asked to flip to the left side in Dallas, a switch that clearly did not take right away. He allowed six sacks as a rookie with an overall grade of just 50.4, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), while also committing 18 penalties. There were some improvements in 2025, though he only started 10 games due to a season-ending ankle injury. Guyton surrendered two sacks, improved his grade to 57.5, and reduced his penalty count to seven. Still, that is not the level of play expected for a first-round pick or accepted for the protector of the blind side of the league’s most expensive quarterback.
As a result, the Cowboys are poised to hold a competition for the starting left tackle job this summer, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. 2024 seventh-round pick Nathan Thomas and Drew Shelton, a fourth-rounder in this year’s draft, will also vie for the job.
Thomas, 24, took over for Guyton after he landed on injured reserve, but was benched after allowing 23 pressures and three sacks with a 93.5 pass blocking efficiency, per PFF. 2022 first-rounder Tyler Smith moved over from left guard to close out the season and allowed just five pressures and one sacks across three games.
Dallas intends to keep Smith at guard, where he has earned three straight Pro Bowl nods after an uneven rookie year at left tackle, his college position. This would maintain a solid interior trio of Smith, center Cooper Beebe, and right guard Tyler Booker (with Terence Steele set to return at right tackle).
Sh
elton, 22, started at left tackle for the Nittany Lions for most of the last four years with some split duties on the right side in 2023. His grades steadily improved throughout his college career, up to 70.6 as a senior in 2025, when he allowed just one sack and zero quarterback hits. He is a solid athlete, but his 33.4-inch arms are below NFL standards for the position. Pre-draft evaluations pegged him for a swing tackle role early in his career with potential to grow into a starter, but he may have a shot at the job right away.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer praised Shelton’s “smooth footwork” and athleticism at the team’s rookie minicamp and confirmed that he would be competing with Guyton and Thomas this summer.
“We just like the traits, and we bet on a guy that’s played, I think, 34 starts,” Schottenheimer said (via Machota). “We think we can get him in here to compete with some of the guys we got.”
A relatively unheralded fourth-round pick seems like a long shot to start at left tackle as a rookie, but the team’s other options do not inspire much confidence. And if none of the three can emerge as a starting-caliber player, Dallas could still pivot back to Smith and put a different player at left guard, though again, that is a situation they would prefer to avoid.
HC Brian Schottenheimer: Cowboys To Hold RT Competition
When the Cowboys play their first game coming off the bye, they could have a new right tackle in place. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer opened the door to a midseason change at that position. 
Schottenheimer said (via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News) an open competition will be held at right tackle. Such scenarios are of course commonplace during training camp, but when they emerge in the middle of a season they are more noteworthy. In this particular case, a high-profile benching is being considered.
Terence Steele has operated as Dallas’ top right tackle for much of six-year Dallas tenure. The former UDFA has made 83 starts and counting, and in September 2023 he landed a long-term commitment from the Cowboys. Team and player agreed to a five-year, $82.5MM extension, a pact which has Steele on the books through 2028.
The 28-year-old has not met expectations since signing that deal, however. Pass blocking in particular has been an issue throughout Steele’s career, and in 2025 his PFF grade in that department sits at 56.4. That is the third-worst figure of his NFL tenure, and it has no doubt played a role in Cowboys’ decision to contemplate a switch. 2024 seventh-rounder Nathan Thomas is the likeliest candidate to take on first-team duties in the event Steele is benched.
A move along those lines would lead to a largely unproven figure taking on a major role up front. Thomas did not see the field as a rookie and he has logged just 96 offensive snaps in 2025. The Cowboys could stand to benefit from improved play along the O-line as they look to make a playoff push down the stretch, though.
In the bigger picture, of course, moving Steele to the bench would lead to questions about a parting of ways during the offseason. The Texas Tech product is not owed any guaranteed salary beyond 2025, and a post-June 1 release in particular would yield notable cap savings this coming spring. It will be interesting to see if such a move receives consideration by means of a right tackle change or if Steele remains atop the depth chart and plays his way into a continued Dallas stay.
Cowboys Reduce Roster To 53 Players
After some late trades and signings, the Cowboys joined in the NFL’s mass exodus of players to get their roster down to 53 players:
Released:
- RB Royce Freeman
- LB Darius Harris
- DE Carl Lawson
- C Dakoda Shepley
- LB Nick Vigil
Waived:
- T Josh Ball
- DB Josh Butler
- RB Snoop Conner
- WR Jalen Cropper
- RB Malik Davis
- DT Denzel Daxon
- TE Princeton Fant
- DB Kemon Hall
- WR Kelvin Harmon
- DB Emany Johnson
- WR Racey McMath
- LB Brock Mogensen
- DT Justin Rogers
- DB Julius Wood
Placed on IR:
- T Nathan Thomas
Placed on IR (designated for return):
- CB DaRon Bland
A number of veterans who were hoping to make the team in Dallas this year saw that hope come to an end. Freeman couldn’t compete with the young backups behind Ezekiel Elliott. Lawson couldn’t contribute to a depleted defensive line, either.
Rogers, the team’s seventh-round pick out of Auburn, is the only drafted rookie to be waived, though Thomas, the team’s other seventh-round pick out of Louisiana, will miss the entire season on injured reserve.
Brevyn Spann-Ford didn’t end up getting drafted, but the 24-year-old, 6-foot-7 tight end out of Minnesota will be the fourth tight end on the roster to start the year.
Cowboys Sign Round 1 T Tyler Guyton, Six Other Draftees
With some teams set for rookie minicamps this weekend, a flurry of draft pick signings is transpiring Thursday. The Cowboys are in on the action; all but one of their draftees is now under contract.
This includes a deal with first-round tackle Tyler Guyton, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets. Dallas inked the Oklahoma prospect, whom the team drafted at No. 29 overall. Holdouts involving first-rounders are much rarer now thanks to the NFL’s slot system, which came to be as part of the 2011 CBA. Guyton’s four-year deal (feat. a fifth-year option) will be fully guaranteed.
The Cowboys have also signed offensive lineman Cooper Beebe (Round 3, Kansas State), linebacker Marist Liufau (Round 3), cornerback Caelen Carson (Round 5), wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, tackle Nathan Thomas (Round 6) and defensive tackle Justin Rogers (Round 7). Only second-rounder Marshawn Kneeland is unsigned. The second round has featured the longest waits in recent years, due to each draft seeing guarantee gains made by second-round picks.
Guyton looks to have a clear path to being the Cowboys’ Week 1 left tackle. Although the prospect of the team moving Tyler Smith back to left tackle surfaced earlier this offseason, it looks like — for the time being, at least — the team plans to keep its versatile left-sider at left guard. The Cowboys saw both Smith and Zack Martin earn All-Pro honors last season, helping the team withstand the losses of All-Decade LT Tyron Smith and center starter Tyler Biadasz. Beebe, chosen out of Kansas State, has a decent shot at taking over at center.
Dallas held the No. 24 overall pick but moved down five spots (via Detroit) and landed Guyton at 29. The extra selection turned into Beebe. Guyton will be asked to make the less common transition from college right tackle to NFL LT. The Saints may well ask Taliese Fuaga to do the same this year, though that is not certain just yet. Guyton stands 6-foot-8 — three inches taller than Tyron Smith — and 322 pounds. This year’s draft featured one of the best tackle crops in recent draft history; Guyton became the ninth tackle — if Duke LT (and likely Buccaneers center) Graham Barton is counted — chosen this year.
A TCU transfer, Guyton only made 14 college starts and did not earn first- or second-team All-Big 12 acclaim while a Sooner. But he checked in as a first-round-caliber talent. And the Cowboys have found a number of standouts in Round 1 — from Martin to the Smiths to Micah Parsons to CeeDee Lamb — over the past several years. They will hope Guyton can become a long-term blindside presence post-Tyron Smith, who joined the Jets in free agency.