Getty Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith has been injured more often than not in recent seasons.
The Dallas Cowboys have an oft-injured veteran offensive lineman on their hands.
As Tim Kelly of Sports Illustrated mentions, longtime offensive tackle Tyron Smith is once again injured due to a knee sprain. Smith has actually missed the past two games due to the injury after starting the first two games of the season at left tackle. Smith’s injury absences have been a major issue for the team in recent seasons, as he’s appeared in just 17 of a possible 50 games between 2020 and 2022.
While the idea seems ridiculous at first read, Kelly pitches the idea of the Cowboys possibly cutting Smith due to their refusal to place him on injured reserve. Such a move would eliminate Dallas’ worry of Smith getting injured again, but it would also result in a dead money cap hit and they would be releasing one of their top offensive lineman (when healthy).
“Cut Tyron? Dallas would actually waste $4 million in cap space by doing that, so it’s not practical,” writes Kelly. “Cowboys SOO Stephen Jones said this week that Dallas won’t move Tyron to IR, either, because of the believe that he’ll soon get healthy. But …”
Why Cutting Tyron Smith Makes Little Sense for Cowboys
As Kelly writes, the move is not a “practical” one. According to OverTheCap, releasing the 32-year-old Smith would actually result in a dead money cap hit of $8 million for this season, $5 million for next season and $1 million for the 2025 season.
Outside of the financial ramifications of making such a sudden and surprising move, the decision from an on-field perspective would be questionable. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith remains productive in the later stages of his career, posting a 78.8 defensive grade and an 88.6 pass-blocking grade this season.
With the exception of second-year guard Tyler Smith, Tyron has actually posted the second-highest offensive grade of any Cowboys offensive lineman this season. His pass-blocking grade is the highest.
Considering Smith serves as the starting left tackle and Dak Prescott’s blindside protector, he plays arguably the second-most important position on the offensive unit.
Chuma Edoga Has Been Underwhelming Filling in for Tyron Smith
But as Kelly mentions, when Smith is sidelined, it forces the Cowboys to rely on a much lesser player — Chuma Edoga — to protect Prescott’s blindside at left tackle.
“Last year’s first-round pick Tyler Smith is a natural left tackle, but he’s currently the starting left guard and it doesn’t make a ton of sense to push him out to the blind side for a week or two if the expectation is the elder Smith will be back relatively soon,” writes Kelly. “But in the meantime, you’re stuck with a lesser player at arguably the second-most important position on the field, even if Chuma Edoga is a serviceable backup.”
Edoga has posted just a 62.1 offensive grade and 58.3 pass-blocking grade this season, ranking as the Cowboys’ lowest-graded starting offensive lineman outside of Terence Steele.
While Smith remains an injury liability at this stage of his career, he’s pivotal to the team’s success considering his level of play when he is on the field.
As Kelly even mentions in his article, it wouldn’t be “practical” to release Smith. Don’t expect the Cowboys to move on from the eight-time Pro Bowler this season.