Tyler Smith

Cowboys OL Tyler Smith has played more than two-thirds of his career snaps at left guard, earning him three-straight Pro Bowl appearances and an All-Pro recognition. However, the lineman has also logged more than 1,000 career snaps at left tackle, and the organization is considering a permanent position change ahead of the 2026 campaign.

While speaking with reporters, Smith said he’s hoping to receive some definitive answers from coach Brian Schottenheimer regarding his 2026 position.

“Yea, I would like there to be some clarity, for sure,” Smith said (via the team’s website). “And I’ll get that, we’re going to have those conversations when we have a conversation later today. I’ll kind of get that clarify from him and what their vision is and what they say.”

While Smith wouldn’t explicitly endorse one position over the other, he did admit that he’s naturally more comfortable playing at the guard position.

“The way you build comfort is through reps,” Smith said. “And right now, I made a lot of money playing offensive guard. That’s what it is. I have the most reps I have in the NFL at offensive guard, so obviously I’m more comfortable there. It’s a matter of conversation, I feel like I just need to know.”

Smith made a name for himself as an offensive tackle at Tulsa, leading to him being selected by the Cowboys with the 24th-overall pick in the 2022 draft. He was quickly switch to left guard considering the presence of Tyron Smith, although the younger lineman did have to fill in at LT when his teammate suffered an injury. Smith once again found himself playing multiple positions in 2025 when Tyler Guyton was sidelined with a high ankle sprain and fill-in Nate Thomas struggled at the position.

Part of the team’s decision will likely depend on how they proceed with the rest of their offensive linemen. Guyton was a first-round pick in 2024 and will surely occupy one of the OT spots, although he could be switch to the right side if the organization decides to move on from Terence Steele. That would open up a spot on the left side for Smith, although the Cowboys might not yet have any definitive answers on how they’re going to proceed at the position.

Fortunately for Smith and the Cowboys, the player is already locked into a lucrative contract. The lineman inked a four-year, $96MM extension with the organization back in April, including $81.2MM in guaranteed money. That pact made him the highest-paid guard in the NFL. His $24MM average annual value would rank sixth among left tackles and 10th among all offensive tackles.

When asked about a potential move, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said the Cowboys would choose the path that’s best for both the player and the team (via Clarence Hill Jr.). If the organization wants the process to go as smoothly as possible, it sounds like they’ll have to make a decision sooner than later.

While left guard Tyler Smith and pass rusher Sam Williams were quickly identified as the next priorities following the announcement of cornerback DaRon Bland‘s extension, it seemed like those deals might be destined for dates further off as the regular season fast approached. Smith had remarked that “everything will happen in due time,” and due time may be sooner than expected.

According to Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS, Dallas is still working towards a long-term deal for Smith, and that deal could reportedly be a record-setting one. After watching wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott sign extensions more expensive than they needed to be as the Cowboys reacted to a market set by deals done earlier in the offseason last year, and after watching Micah Parsons depart in part due to the team’s lack of urgency in working towards legitimate negotiations, it would be extremely satisfying to watch Dallas set the market before it has a chance to inflate.

The Cowboys exercised Smith’s fifth-year option before the draft, ensuring that he’d be under contract for at least the next two seasons, but considering how the option groups interior linemen and tackles in the formula determining the fifth-year salary, it’s unlikely that Dallas will allow Smith to play out his fifth season under the option. More likely, the option was picked up as a sign of dedication to getting an extension worked out sooner rather than later.

To clarify about Smith’s expected deal being potentially record-setting, it would likely only set a record among interior offensive linemen. Left tackles tend to pace the market, and Chargers tackle Rashawn Slater leads the NFL currently with an average annual value of $28.5MM. The highest-paid right tackle isn’t far behind, though, as Detroit’s Penei Sewell slots in at $28MM per year. The highest-paid guard, though, doesn’t show up until after eight tackles have been listed, with Chiefs guard Trey Smith making $23.5MM per year on average.

Now, there’s a couple reasons why a potential deal may set a new mark among guards. First off, in only three years of play, Smith already has three accolades to his name as a two-time Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro, all earned during the two seasons in which he started at guard. Another reason is the fact that he has a season in which he didn’t start at guard; as a rookie expecting to play guard, Smith stepped in for an injured Tyron Smith to start every game of the season but one at left tackle.

Smith can lean on analytics, as well, to support his case. As a rookie unexpectedly starting as Prescott’s blindside blocker, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded Smith as the league’s 25th-best tackle out of 81 players graded at the position. When he bumped back in to guard in his sophomore campaign, PFF slotted him in at 11th of 79. He followed that up last year with a ranking of 15th out of 77 guards. Despite the varying relative position rankings, Smith’s overall grades have been consistently strong and have improved year after year.

Not only is Smith among the cream of the crop at his normal position, but the 24-year-old has also proven he can play at a high level as a tackle if need be. Smith is young and talented and likely has room to grow yet. In a league that has seen its strongest teams win big by winning in the trenches, Dallas would do well to lock Smith down before he shows just how big of a contract he could get on the open market or before some other guards push the market ceiling up higher than it is now.

Tyler Smith is one of several extension-eligible players on the Cowboys’ radar for a new deal. The Pro Bowler will have new representation when his second NFL contract is signed, though.

Smith is now a client of Athletes First, per an agency announcement. Joe Panos and Todd France now represent the 24-year-old, who as expected had his fifth-year option picked up this spring. That means Smith is on the books through 2026, giving team and player plenty of time to negotiate a long-term pact.

For now, Micah Parsons represents priority No. 1 for Dallas since he is entering his option season. Making the two-time All-Pro the league’s highest-paid defender may be necessary to finalize an agreement on that front, but in any case Smith is a logical target for a lucrative pact of his own. The Tulsa product handled blindside duties as a rookie out of necessity, but since then he has primarily been used as planned at guard. Smith has missed three total games during that span, but he has collected a Pro Bowl nod each time.

Having posted top-15 PFF grades amongst guards in 2023 and ’24, Smith’s performance and age could set him up for a notable payday. As things stand, he is set to earn $21.27MM in 2026. That figure outpaces the AAV of Landon Dickerson‘s Eagles pact, the most lucrative multi-year deal in the league for guards (Trey Smith is currently scheduled to earn more on his Chiefs franchise tag this year, but an extension would change that). Having Smith in place at a $21.27MM cap charge would be challenging for Dallas, of course, creating added incentive for a long-term accord.

Dallas has invested considerable draft capital up front in recent years. The Cowboys used their top choice in 2024 on left tackle Tyler Guyton, and they went with guard Tyler Booker at No. 12 last month. Those two are in place to handle starting roles for years to come if things go according to plan, and Smith will join them as a key figure up front. Strong O-line play will be critical if Dallas is to bounce back from an underwhelming 2024 showing this year.

In addition to Smith, Athletes First represents Parsons along with quarterback Dak Prescott and recent trade acquisition George Pickens. Of that group, only Prescott’s future beyond 2026 is assured, so negotiations with those clients will be interesting to monitor over the coming weeks and months.

The Cowboys will soon need to make a decision on Tyler Smith‘s fifth-year option. The team’s top offensive lineman can be counted on to remain in Dallas for at least two more years, though.

Smith’s 2026 option is expected to be picked up, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports. The 24th overall pick in 2022 has one Pro Bowl nod on his resume. As a result, Smith will be in line to collect $21.27MM guaranteed for the ’26 campain in the likely event his option is exercised.

Of course, an extension could very well be in store as well. Smith is among the players known to be on the Cowboys’ radar for a long-term arrangement. The 24-year-old was drafted with the intention of starting his career along the interior, but an injury to Tyron Smith changed those plans. Tyler Smith spent much of his rookie campaign on the blindside and flashed the potential to operate as a long-term answer at left tackle.

The team’s preference is to keep the Tulsa product at guard, though, something which was the case in 2023. Last spring, Dallas selected Tyler Guyton in the first round of the draft and gave him a large workload at the left tackle spot. Smith primarily played at left guard, and with Guyton in place for the foreseeable future that setup can be expected to continue moving forward.

Offensive linemen are grouped together for the purposes of franchise tags, something which could lead to complications if team and player reached that point after the 2026 campaign. An extension could be in place well before that point, especially if Smith is seen as one of Dallas’ top priorities for a new deal. Micah Parsons is atop that list, and the process of working out his extension (as was the case last year with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb) is widely seen as taking much longer than needed.

Considering the Cowboys’ track record on that front, it would come as little surprise if talks on a long-term agreement took place over an extended period. The top of the guard market now has four players attached to multi-year deals averaging $20MM or more per year, while Trey Smith is set to earn over $23MM on the franchise tag (or a similar amount if a Chiefs extension agreement can be worked out). A top-15 guard in terms of PFF grades each of the past two years, Tyler Smith could find himself among the top earners at his position by 2026 or sooner depending on how contract talks progress.