Dallas Cowboys trusting LT Tyron Smith to finally stay healthy but keeping options open

The Dallas Cowboys have preached line versatility for much of the offseason.

2022 first-round Tyler Smith has worked at left tackle with eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith working at right tackle.

And the team has loudly touted the idea of trying 6-foot-6 Terence Steele, who started at right tackle the past two seasons before suffering a torn ACL last December, at left guard in an effort to get the best five lineman on the field.

Owner Jerry Jones spoke approvingly about working Steele inside.

“I’m liking his flex that we’re mentally thinking about,” Jones said. “And I think the fact that those tall guys with that kind of arm length. I like the fact that they haven’t been ruled out inside. I see how that can work. And those guys have the athletic ability to knee bend and play with long length to the extent we can get that and it can get the strength that we want.”

But when the Cowboys opened mandatory a three-day mini camp on Tuesday, the last run of practices before training camp begins in July, the most logical line solution was front in center.

But it also came with a huge question mark.

Tyler Smith was a left guard, a position he practiced and played for much of last season, with Tyron Smith left tackle, paving the way from Steele to return to right tackle when he returns to health, which may be after the starting of training camp.

But it does give the Cowboys the opportunity to get their best five linemen on the field, including Pro Bowl right tackle Terence Steele and center Tyler Biadasz.

Getting the line right and improving the protection for quarterback Dak Prescott has been one of the major focal points of the offseason.

For this lineup to work, the Cowboys will have to trust that Tyron Smith can do something he hasn’t done in seven seasons, stay healthy.

Tyron Smith has missed at least three games a season every year since 2016. He has missed 33 games the past three seasons combined, including 14 in 2020, six in 2021 and 13 in 2022.

He was supposed to start at left tackle last season with Tyler Smith at left guard before suffering hamstring injury in training camp and missing the first 13 games of the season.

“He’s had some setbacks, physical health issues, but then he gets back,” Jones said. “And so when you look at 17 games, when you look at the season, it’s a marathon. I think he’s gonna be valuable and we are counting on him being a valuable part of it.”

The Cowboys drafted Tyler Smith in the first round in 2022 with goal of making him Tyron Smith’s future heir at left tackle. That move came quicker than expected when Tyler had to open the season at left tackle because of Tyron’s injury.

Tyler Smith played so well that there has been discussion all offseason about leaving him at left tackle and letting him continue to grow developing, spawning the plan to play Tyron Smith right tackle, a position he played after his return in 2022 as an answer for Steele’s injury.

And that has how they worked for much of the offseason until Tuesday when they told Tyler Smith he was going to work at guard all week..

He said he’s glad he got the reps last season at guard.

”It’s definitely like riding a bike,” Tyler Smith said. “It’s like a mountain bike. So you gotta switch gears sometimes. So just staying sharp on the footwork is like the biggest thing. I got to be little bit more of a phone booth at guard. Tackle is more space. You got to be quicker with your feet. So just refining those little details.”

Tyler Smith says left tackle is his long-term position but will do whatever to help the team.

“I feel like just being good at both or being elite at both is going to help,” Tyler Smith said.

That is the mindset of everyone on the line heading into the 2023 season. That was certainly Tyron Smith’s attitude when the possible future Hall of Famer moved to right tackle in 2022.

It’s the reason Steele will experiment at guard even thought right tackle is his best position and he is slated to be a free agent following the 2023 season.

The Cowboys are giving backup tackles Matt Waletzko and Josh Ball work at at guard as coach Mike McCarthy has learned first hand to be prepared for injuries up front.

The Cowboys have not started the same five guys up front since McCarthy took over in 2020 and they don’t expect that to happen in 2023.

So being versatile and flexible are the buzzwords for the Cowboys offensive line.

But with the goal of getting the best five on the field, they also trusting, rather hoping, that Tyron Smith can finally stay healthy.

Can he play 17 games?

“I mean Tyron has been here every day the whole offseason,” McCarthy said. “And five days in the weight room. He’s definitely prepare himself for that. He’s had an excellent offseason.”