Before free agency began, the Cowboys insisted they wanted to keep Tyler Smith at left guard even if left tackle Tyron Smith left in free agency. Now that Tyron Smith has left for the Jets, the Cowboys say Tyler Smith is an option at left tackle.
“I’d say that’s a good, viable thing. . . . Keep the idea there. Don’t dismiss that idea,” Jones said of moving Tyler Smith, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “Certainly, he’s potentially, I want to say, a great player at left tackle.”
Jones said the Cowboys couldn’t afford to keep Tyron Smith, despite Smith receiving only a $6.5 million base salary, because of the incentives in the deal. If Smith plays 38 percent of the snaps, he will make another $750,000, and he will pocket a total of $12 million if he can stay in the lineup for 68 percent of the snaps.
So, depending on what happens in the draft, Tyler Smith might be the best player to protect Dak Prescott’s blindside.
The Cowboys drafted Tyler Smith 24th overall in 2022 as the heir apparent to Tyron Smith. Tyler Smith spent most of his rookie season at left tackle with Tyron Smith injured, but moved to left guard full time in 2023 and made the Pro Bowl for the first time.
Eight offensive tackles could go in the first round in April, so the Cowboys could use the 24th overall selection on one.
