Jeff Saturday spent 13 years anchoring the offensive line in front of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, so he knows a bit about what it takes to protect a drop-back passer. Certainly, that’s how Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott likes to play, and for Saturday–a former center with two Super Bowl rings and two All-Pro selections, who is now an analyst for ESPN–that makes the interior of the offensive line as important as the tackle spots. That also makes the Tyler Smith injury that much more concerning.
Smith is one of the best guards in the NFL, arguably the best. For an offensive line that features two second-year players (center Cooper Beebe and right guard Tyler Booker), having a guy who has been a Pro Bowler for three straight seasons to lead the group on the interior has been important. That’s Smith.
Tyler Smith Is ‘The Best OL’ on the Cowboys
But in a surprise announcement on Monday, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters that Smith would undergo surgery to repair a ligament in his wrist, and injury that could cost him four-to-six weeks. Smith is on the injured reserve and will need to miss a minimum of four weeks.
Saturday said he worried that, even when Smith comes back, he will have lost strength in his hand, essentially for an interior lineman.
Speaking on the ESPN morning show “Get Up,” Saturday said, “Offensive linemen, you’re meant to grab stuff. If you can’t grab, it makes it a very difficult job, especially passing things off the way you’re trying to do it. Not only for the first part of the season, but as the season progresses and stuff like that. You just worry about starting a season off like that. And he is the best offensive lineman in that group. Missing the leadership, missing the intensity he plays with.”
Tyler Smith Injury Will Affect Dak Prescott
As a pocket passer, with a Cowboys offense expected to be high-powered with top level weapons, Prescott needs enough time to get the ball away. The Cowboys already had worries about the tackles, but now there are concerns about protection up the middle.
That’s Saturday’s issue: “This is massive. And not just because the first four games, you’ve got two division games obviously to start the season off. But you’re talking about Dak Prescott who likes to stay in the pocket, live in the pocket and is an internal guy. Pro Bowl guard and, the thumb—to put this in reference, just because you’re fine does not mean that thing is back. …
This is a Peyton Manning, Tom Brady style quarterback, Dak wants to stay in the pocket and tear you up from there. Internal pressure is a problem, you hope that TJ Bass is up for the challenge.”
Dak Prescott a Pocket Passer for Cowboys
Indeed, it does fall to TJ Bass now, who has been a reliable backup for the Cowboys for the past three years as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon. The Cowboys re-signed Bass in restricted free agency this winter.
“Tyler Smith’s a great player, but we feel really confident in T.J., and he’s put great film on here,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s played next to Cooper Beebe, he’s played next to [Tyler] Guyton, so that’s nothing new, the communication and all that stuff. . . . We tendered him the way we tendered him because we trust this guy as a football player. He’s a damn good football player that unfortunately is just playing behind a lot of really, really good players. So we have great confidence in T.J.”
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