After several days of concerning reports about his worsening neck condition, Offensive Tackle Tyron Smith is now set to have surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2020 season. This now leaves the Dallas Cowboys without both of their starting offensive tackles as La’el Collins was already done for the year following hip surgery.
Swing tackle Brandon Knight will likely take over as the starting left tackle in Smith’s absence. How the Cowboys will now handle things at right tackle is less certain.
Undrafted rookie Terence Steele was the starting RT to begin the year while Collins was out. But he got benched at halftime of Dallas’ Week 3 loss to the Seahawks and then again during the first half of last week’s loss to the Browns.
If the Cowboys have lost faith in Steele then they may turn to using Zack Martin at right tackle, where he performed well against Seattle.
For now we only have the sad confirmation of Tyron Smith’s regression and absence for the rest of 2020. It continues a concerning trend of health issues for All-Pro tackle where he’s missed multiple games every season since 2016.
Smith will head to injured reserve having played in just two games this year. He turns 30 this December and this was his 10th season in the NFL.
Time will tell how this latest and more significant setback affects Tyron’s future with the Dallas Cowboys. All we can do now is hope the team finds ways to recover and stay competitive in the present.
