FRISCO, TEXAS — The offensive line shuffle will continue for Dallas as injuries pile up. Left tackle Tyron Smith (neck) with undergo “corrective surgery” next week to fix the lingering issue. The Cowboys will be without the seven-time Pro Bowl veteran for the remainder of the season.
“ My understanding is it’s something he’s been dealing with for some time, “ Mike McCarthy told Dallas media on Friday. “ I’ve also been told that it’s a correctable surgery that if he doesn’t have the surgery, he’ll continue to deal with this in a manner of how this season has gone. So, this is something that needs to be done.”
Smith played every snap against the Browns and sought a second opinion following the game when soreness continued. The decision was made to go ahead with the surgery.
McCarthy noted he did not have a specific timeline for Tyron to return but that “ Tyron wants to get it [surgery] as soon as he can and he wants to get to work on the rehab process.”
In the two previous games that Smith missed, Brandon Knight started at left tackle in his place and Terence Steele has started all four games at right tackle for La’el Collins (hip).
Swing tackle, Cameron Erving is eligible to come off of injured reserve this week after a knee injury sidelined him in week one. Right guard Zack Martin and left guard Connor Williams could both potentially be tackle options as well. Martin did a tremendous job after being moved to right tackle against the Seahawks when Steele exited the game due to a stomach bug.
Many combinations will continue to be worked out throughout the week during practice. Dallas added depth to the offensive line and signed Greg Senat to the active roster and added Jordan Mills to the practice squad.
The Cowboys’ once dominant line consisting of Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins is no more. When McCarthy was hired to be the team’s head coach, all four were in the lineup. Frederick retired in the offseason and his backup Joe Looney went down on the opening play against the Browns and will be out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury. In came rookie Tyler Biadasz at center and he will now be the starter. It seems the Cowboys could not have any worse luck with the unit in charge of protecting Dak Prescott. On Sunday against the Giants, tight ends Blake Bell and Dalton Schultz will likely be used as in-line blockers to assist with pass protection and Ezekiel Elliott can be additional help to one side as well to create a clean pocket.
Owner/general manager Jerry Jones stated on 105.3 The Fan, “ The bottom line is we all agree that he [Tyron Smith] should have the surgery, which will put him out the rest of the year. I have said over the last two or three weeks that my biggest concern I have as a position group with all the things that we can critique and look to improve upon our team, and we certainly have many of them that we can, of all the concerns is the offensive line. It’s always the challenge relative to continuity when you start shuffling it around or losing key players within the offensive line…we have a lot of guys that are truly going to have to step up…they’re going to have to play above what we expected them to play this year.”
