Cowboys' need to build offensive line depth stressed again with Tyler Smith exiting practice early

Associated Press

3 days ago

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — The hits keep on coming for the Dallas Cowboys' offensive line, after left guard Tyler Smith came out of practice early on Thursday.
Smith is dealing with tendinitis in his knee, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones told the Dallas Morning News. Smith left practice with about 30 minutes remaining and told reporters he was fine as he walked down the sideline back to the team's training camp setup.
A first-round draft pick in 2022, Smith has started 47 games in his three seasons with the Cowboys. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2023 and has made the Pro Bowl twice.
Smith is the third Dallas offensive lineman to be injured in less than a week.
Starting left tackle Tyler Guyton was hurt Monday, one day after reserve guard Rob Jones broke a bone in his neck. Coach Brian Schottenheimer described Guyton's right knee fracture, which will keep him out four to six weeks, as the best-case scenario given the circumstances.
'We need to have a physical camp,' Schottenheimer said Wednesday. 'We need to pop and hit and wrap and thud in pads. You look at the play that happened to Tyler, it was a blitz and just some bodies got tangled up, and that happens in football. You hate to see it, but again, at the end of the day, as you look at it now, it's like, 'Hey, I think we got away with one.''
Jones had been competing to start at right guard and will require two to three months to recover. The extended absences of Guyton and Jones won't change how offensive coordinator Klayton Adams approaches the rest of camp and the preseason. The Cowboys' emphasis on building depth and having as many players capable of contributing as possible has become that much more important.
'We create as much competition as we can, that's the easy answer to it,' said Adams, who was the offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals the past two seasons before joining Schottenheimer's staff in January. 'Obviously, it's unfortunate any time you got guys that are going to miss (time), but it's also one of the reasons that we don't really believe in kind of that old mentality of get the starters ready to play. We need to get everybody ready to play, and everybody on this roster needs to be getting better.'
Nate Thomas, a second-year player from Louisiana Tech, is getting the first look at replacing Guyton at left tackle. Thomas is 6-foot-4 and weighs 330 pounds, and that size carries over to the field.
'So again, Nate, the power jumps off the film,' Schottenheimer said. 'I mean, the power of the man and his body, so the first thing that jumps out is his ability to get displacement in the run game. He's able to move the dot, we call it. That's the guy who the backs are reading.'
Thomas spent his rookie season on injured reserve because of a partial tear of his patellar tendon after being drafted in the seventh round. The Cowboys originally expected him to move inside to guard, but Schottenheimer said Thomas' footwork was so good during offseason workouts this spring that it prompted a return to his more natural position.
But that doesn't mean Thomas will focus exclusively on left tackle. Adams stresses versatility over specialization. The swing tackle needs to be able to play both spots, and being able to move inside if needed can make a lineman all the more valuable.
'You know, we tell all of our guys that unless you are an All-Pro at left guard or right tackle or whatever, you need to be able to play as many spots as you can possibly play,' Adams said.
Thomas credits a conversation with quarterback Dak Prescott this summer for helping him adjust to sudden changes.
'He told me straight up, like, you need to be ready, you know?' Thomas said. 'And I just took that in stride, and just make sure I go about every day just knowing that, hey, I need to treat this as if I'm a starter because you never know when my number is called. And, you know, here I am.'
The Cowboys are exploring all options to bolster their numbers on the offensive line, including scheduling a workout with La'el Collins. Collins played six of his first seven seasons in the NFL with Dallas but has been out of the league the past two years.
'I just saw him back there actually, and it was a very joyous reunion,' Prescott said after practice Thursday.
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