Tyler

Smith

After undergoing surgery on his injured thumb, Smith will miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season. An All-Pro left guard, Smith started all 16 games he appeared in last season and proved to be a critical part of the Dallas offensive line. Fourth-year guard T.J. Bass is expected to start for the Cowboys while Smith recovers.

The All-Pro guard started all 16 games he appeared in last season and has been named to the Pro Bowl each of the last three seasons. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Smith “has been bothered by the injury for some time and was trying to avoid surgery.” Now, fourth-year guard and former UDFA T.J. Bass will fill in at left guard for Smith, who will land on injured reserve, forcing him to miss a minimum of three games.

Restructuring the contracts of Prescott, Lamb and Smith will create $66 million in cap space. Schefter also passes along that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the Cowboys will rework the contracts of DTs Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa, who are scheduled to count around $63 million against the cap. With the new cap set at $301.2 million, the Cowboys had negative-$56.1 million in cap space. These moves help Dallas become compliant and have money to work with this offseason.

ESPN’s Todd Archer reports Smith should be ready for offseason activities in April following the knee procedure. The Pro Bowl left guard gutted it out through the knee injury for much of the 2025 season. Pro Football Focus graded Smith 31st among guards in pass blocking last season. He ranked top-5 among guards in run blocking grade. The Cowboys last year made Smith, their 2022 first round pick, the NFL’s highest paid interior offensive lineman.

Turpin, Booker, Lamb, and Sanborn were all ruled out on Friday. Tyler Smith (knee), DaRon Bland (shoulder), and Trevon Diggs (knee) will all play off their questionable tags. Cornelius and (Mazi) Smith are healthy scratches.

Cowboys LG Tyler Smith (knee) is questionable and RG Tyler Booker (ankle) is out. The Cowboys’ offensive line health is beginning to improve, which bodes positively for both Dak Prescott and Javonte Williams. The Panthers’ defensive line is among the league’s weaker units, but the Cowboys face a tougher Commanders squad in Week 7. The Cowboys also ruled out LB Jack Sanborn (concussion). CBs DaRon Bland (shoulder) and Trevon Diggs (knee) are questionable, though both players remained limited in practice all week.

The Cowboys could have four backup linemen starting with Cooper Beebe on IR, Tyler Booker (ankle) already ruled out, and G Tyler Smith (ankle) extremely questionable for Week 5. Neither Guyton, Booker, nor Smith practiced all week for the Cowboys. While OC Klayton Adams has made great results out of subpar ingredients, this is going to be a big ask for Dallas as they take on a rough Jets defense.

Smith receives a massive $81.2 million in guaranteed money and is now under team control through the 2029 season. Smith has received above average grades in both run blocking and in pass protection in each of his three professional seasons and will now anchor the offensive line in Dallas for the foreseeable future. He becomes the highest-paid guard in the league with the new deal.

Smith is reportedly experiencing knee tendonitis and was held out of the Cowboys’ last practice as a result. The fourth-year tackle should get plenty of time to heal after the Cowboys went out and signed La’el Collins as added depth and plan to ramp him up at the right tackle spot in the coming days/weeks. Smith’s situation will be one to monitor, but it doesn’t sound like the team is overly concerned about his availability once the regular season starts.

The left side of the Cowboys’ offensive line is ailing. OT Tyler Guyton is currently sidelined by a fracture in his knee, and three backups have also picked up injuries: OG Rob Jones (neck), OT Matt Waletzko (ankle) and OT Hakeem Adeniji (concussion). The Cowboys will host former RT La’el Collins for a workout this weekend.