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Tyron Smith

Cowboys Place LT Tyron Smith, WR James Washington On IR

August 31st, 2022 at 3:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

For players who are currently injured, but are expected to be available at some point during the season, teams are required to name them to their initial 53-man rosters before placing them on injured reserve. A team announcement confirmed on Wednesday that the Cowboys have done just that with left tackle Tyron Smith and wideout James Washington. 

Neither move comes as a surprise, of course. Smith suffered a hamstring tear in practice last week, and faces a long road to recovery. The required surgery is expected to keep him sidelined until at least December, an absence which will be widely felt in Dallas’ offense. The 2010s All-Decade member has been a mainstay on the Cowboys’ o-line since 2011, and internal replacement options are highly lacking in experience.

That list includes first-round rookie Tyler Smith – though the team’s intention was to bring him along slowly, and at guard to begin his NFL career. Remarks from coach Mike McCarthy confirm that, out of necessity, that plan has changed (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jon Machota). Swing tackle Josh Ball could also fill in as a blindside protector, but the Cowboys have widely been reported as being active in search of outside options. That most recently included an attempt to trade for former Jet Chuma Edoga, but the deal fell through.

Washington, meanwhile, is partway through the recovery process from surgery to repair a foot fracture suffered at the beginning of the month. The timeline (ranging from six to 10 weeks) made him a logical IR candidate to begin the regular season. His absence will compound that of Michael Gallup, who is recovering from an ACL tear. Washington’s production fell off in Pittsburgh, but the lack of established options aside from Gallup (when healthy) and CeeDee Lamb should leave him with a path to significant snaps.

At some point, both Smith and Washington should return, which would inevitably give the Cowboys’ offense a boost. With the roster spots made open by the move, Dallas brought back long snapper Jake McQuaide and defensive back C.J. Goodwin after their temporary releases yesterday.

Cowboys Unlikely To Trade For Left Tackle?

August 26th, 2022 at 3:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys have very limited time to find a Tyron Smith replacement, but a few avenues by which they could acquire one. Their financial situation could make a trade viable on paper, though it appears the team will look elsewhere while evaluating their options. 

Smith is expected to be sidelined until at least December due to an avulsion fracture of the knee and subsequent hamstring tear. Dallas doesn’t have a replacement on hand with anywhere near the pedigree of the eight-time Pro Bowler, of course, but promoting from within remains an immediate solution. Playing first-round rookie Tyler Smith at left tackle – his college position – is a possibility, though he was thought to be a guard candidate early in his career. Fellow rookie Matt Waletzko and 2021 fourth-rounder Josh Ball could also step in on the blindside.

Indeed, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports that the Cowboys are turning to the aforementioned “in-house players” while also “working through” potential free agent additions (Twitter link). That is in line with reporting from yesterday indicating that a signing could be coming soon. A number of veterans remain on the open market, including Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth; Anderson adds, however, that the retired 40-year-old is not among Dallas’ considerations.

Adding further to the sense that the Cowboys will not be executing a trade for a stop-gap solution, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tweets that the Texans are not expected to make Laremy Tunsil available to Dallas (or any other club). The two-time Pro Bowler has two years remaining on his contract, including a $17.7MM cap hit the Cowboys could absorb given their current financial situation. Beside his talent level, Wilson cites the dead cap charge (over 16.6MM) which would be generated by a trade as the reason such a move is unlikely on Houston’s end.

With final roster cuts just days away, more options could surface for the Cowboys to consider. A recent release, or an aging veteran still available remains the likeliest way the team augments its unproven stable of incumbents.

Latest On Tyron Smith, Cowboys’ Offensive Line

August 25th, 2022 at 3:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

The sentiment regarding Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith was altered from optimistic immediately following his injury sustained last night to crippling once it was learned hours later that he had suffered a torn hamstring. More has come out today regarding his recovery plan, and the options Dallas now has to weigh. 

Smith will undergo surgery tomorrow, reports ESPN’s Todd Archer (Twitter link). As had been thought, the timeline to recover from the procedure will keep him sidelined until at least December. That represents, of course, a major blow to Dallas’ offensive line, but leaves open the possibility that the 31-year-old could return in time for the postseason.

Smith’s absence leaves plenty of question marks throughout the o-line. Projected starting left guard Connor McGovern – who head coach Mike McCarthy indicated is still ahead of first-round rookie Tyler Smith – was scheduled to start at center during the Cowboys’ preseason finale. “Connor also has value at other positions, which I value a lot,” McCarthy added, via the team’s website, referring to his ability to play as a jumbo tight end or fullback as well.

With Tyron Smith on the shelf for the foreseeable future, though, Tyler Smith may be needed at either tackle or guard earlier than the team envisioned. The latter is dealing with a minor ankle injury, though owner Jerry Jones indicated that he is not concerned about his Week 1 availability. Missing the team’s final preseason game, though, would be significant given the shuffling now required amongst the starters.

In the aftermath of Smith’s diagnosis, Jones said that the front office is “giving thought” to the idea of adding a veteran blindside protector in free agency (Twitter link via Archer). On that point, Archer’s colleague Ed Werner tweets that Eric Fisher “wants to play this season” and has already received offers from nine teams. The former No. 1 pick is being “selective,” as evidenced by the fact he has still not signed despite widespread interest. Fisher played 15 games for the Colts last season, after his eight-year Chiefs tenure ended with a torn Achilles.

As noted by Jon Machota of The Athletic (subscription required), Dallas has internal options to consider, including swing tackle Josh Ball and fifth-round rookie Matt Waletzko. The Cowboys also have the third-most cap space in the league ($21.5MM), however, so signing someone like Fisher, Jason Peters or Daryl Williams would be feasible. The same could be true of a trade acquisition; Machota names former Patriots first-rounder Isaiah Wynn as a potential target.

Regardless of how they replace Smith, the Cowboys’ decisions along the o-line will go a long way in determining the offense’s effectiveness during a season once again filled with expectation.

Cowboys LT Tyron Smith Tears Hamstring

August 25th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Sam Robinson

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.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/12/22

January 12th, 2022 at 10:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s updates for the reserve/COVID-19 and practice squad/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Maxx Williams (remains on IR)

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: TE Mark Vital

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Tyler Bray

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: DT David Bada

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/6/22

January 6th, 2022 at 9:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the Thursday additions and subtractions from teams’ reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Cowboys’ Tyron Smith Tests Positive For COVID-19

January 6th, 2022 at 11:25am CST by Adam La Rose

One day after their breakout star defender tested positive for COVID-19, the Cowboys learned of another positive test from a key piece to their offense. Starting left tackle Tyron Smith has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). 

Micah Parsons tested positive on Wednesday, which in all likelihood ended his rookie season. The fact that Smith tested positive one day later, of course, makes his absence for Saturday’s game against the Eagles even more likely. Smith has already missed four games this year, including Week 15 most recently. Those absences have been related to ongoing ankle issues, and come after he was only able to suit up for two games last year. Without Smith, look for Terence Steele or Ty Nsekhe to fill in at left tackle.

The silver lining to the news for Dallas is the fact that they have already clinched the NFC East title, rendering the game against Philadelphia – which has also clinched a playoff spot – relatively meaningless. On the other hand, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reports that there are “a few players feeling under the weather today”, and that cornerback Anthony Brown has also tested positive.

The Cowboys’ COVID-19 situation will be worth monitoring in the coming days, as the team ultimately prepares for the postseason starting next week.

Cowboys OT Tyron Smith To Miss Week 15

December 14th, 2021 at 10:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Tyron Smith won’t be on the field this Sunday when the Cowboys take on the Giants. The left tackle aggravated his ankle injury and won’t play this week, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Fortunately, head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters that he doesn’t think “it’s a surgical situation” (via Gehlken) meaning Smith should be able to return to the lineup sooner than later.

Smith missed three games earlier this season while dealing with the same ankle injury, so this is probably a frustrating development for the 31-year-old. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the lineman has been dealing with bone spurs in his ankle. Smith has otherwise started all 10 games for the Cowboys this season.

The offensive lineman was limited to only a pair of games in 2020 while he dealt with a neck injury. The seven-time Pro Bowler hasn’t had a fully healthy season since 2015, and he went on a remarkable run of 13-game seasons between 2016 and 2019.

With Smith out of the lineup against the Giants, the Cowboys will likely turn to either Terence Steele or Ty Nsekhe at left tackle.

Contract Restructures: Panthers, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Eagles, Steelers

March 10th, 2021 at 5:51pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s that time of year when teams are frantically maneuvering ahead of free agency. Due to the cap falling because of COVID-19, things are even more hectic than ever. We’ve seen a whole bunch of contract restructures come in, and there will be a whole lot more. Let’s catch you up on the latest batch and their financial implications:

  • The Panthers restructured Christian McCaffrey‘s contract recently, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. They converted $7MM of his $8MM base salary into a signing bonus, which freed up about $5.6MM in cap space for 2021. Almost a year ago McCaffrey signed his record-breaking extension that has him locked up through the 2025 season.
  • The Cowboys have had a busy week with Dak Prescott‘s massive extension now in the books, and they made a trio of moves to help clear some space. Dallas restructured the deals of Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins, a source told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The reworking of the three offensive linemen’s contracts cleared up about $17MM in cap space for Jerry Jones. As Archer notes, these moves have now gotten Dallas under the cap for 2021.
  • The Giants just cut top offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler as they look to clear cap space to keep guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. The Zeitler release isn’t the only shuffling they’re doing, as they also restructured the contract of tight end Levine Toilolo, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweeted the details. Rather than a procedural restructure like you see with star players, Toilolo actually took a pay-cut to stay with the team. He had been scheduled to make $2.95MM this year but agreed to reduce that to $1.6MM, saving the Giants north of $1MM against the cap.
  • We’ve got four other restructures to pass along, courtesy of this tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Saints restructured the deals of safety Malcolm Jenkins to save $3.4MM and offensive lineman Andrus Peat to save $6MM. New Orleans has the worst cap situation in the league, and they desperately needed moves like this to do things like franchise tag safety Marcus Williams.
  • The Eagles saved $2.4MM by reworking the deal of offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo. Philly is right up there with New Orleans in terms of bad cap situations, so GM Howie Roseman is likely far from done here.
  • The Steelers saved $880K by adjusting fullback Derek Watt‘s contract. Not exactly front page news here, but it should shore up Watt’s spot on the 2021 roster. T.J. and J.J.’s brother signed a three-year, $9.75MM pact last offseason.

Tyron Smith Done For Season

October 9th, 2020 at 10:26am CST by Sam Robinson

Oct 9: Smith will undergo neck surgery and will miss the rest of the season, head coach Mike McCarthy announced this morning (Twitter link via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). However, he is expected to make a full recovery and plans to be back in action for Week 1 of the 2021 season (Twitter link via Gehlken).

Oct. 8: Tyron Smith played all 82 of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps in their shootout loss to the Browns, but the neck injury that caused the All-Pro left tackle to miss the previous two games continues to be a concern.

The Cowboys are considering placing Smith on IR and are not certain he can continue to play this season, Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Smith indeed suffered a setback with his neck and is gathering medical information. He also is considering the prospect of the injury shutting him down for the rest of the season, Jane Slater and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (on Twitter).

This would certainly be a major loss for a Cowboys team that has already seen right tackle La’el Collins shelved for the season. Travis Frederick‘s offseason retirement would leave Zack Martin alone among Dallas’ All-Pro blocking coalition responsible for helping the respective rises of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.

The Cowboys are also down center Joe Looney, who left Sunday’s game after the first play. The team confirmed its starting center is dealing with an MCL issue and will miss time. As for Smith, he has gone to seven straight Pro Bowls and joined Martin on the 2010s’ All-Decade team. The 2011 first-round pick has never missed more than three games in a season.

UDFAs Brandon Knight and Terence Steele are expected to be the Cowboys’ left and right tackles, respectively, for the foreseeable future, the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken tweets. A Smith IR stay would mean at least three missed games, pushing his total to a minimum of five absences this season. Even if that ends up being the Cowboys’ move, their offensive line has run into the kind of trouble that it has not faced in many years.

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