The Dallas Cowboys have had quite the journey to a 2-2 record here in the early going of the 2026 NFL season. Really, an early and honest look at the schedule before Week 1 would have led many an observer to guess that a split of the first four games would be a reasonable projection considering the quality of the opponents and the excessive travel plans that would need to be made, including the Week 3 trip to Rio. But few would have guessed that 2-2 would include a steamrolling at the hands of the Giants, or a wild loss to the Ravens in Brazil. Or that the Cowboys would come in at .500 without one of their top players on either side of the ball, guard Tyler Smith.
It has been a month since the Cowboys, after a mostly healthy training camp, stunned reporters and fans by abruptly announcing that Smith would require hand surgery after battling a hush-hush ligament problem throughout the summer. Smith went onto injured reserve, which requires a four-week stint out of action. The four weeks are up, and now, Smith is eligible to come back for Thursday’s game against the Buccaneers.
Tyler Smith Trending Toward Playing in Week 5
After Sunday’s big win over the Texans, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked if there was a chance that Smith–and injured linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who is dealing with a hamstring injury–could come back for Thursday’s Week 5 game.
From Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com: “Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer says left guard Tyler Smith and LB DeMarvion Overshown are ‘trending positively’ towards playing against the Buccaneers on Thursday, but the team probably won’t have a great idea on their status until Tuesday.”
Big Boost for Cowboys
Getting Smith, a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro, back would be a big boost, though the Cowboys have one of the better backup guards in the league in TJ Bass, who has been filling in for Smith.
When coach Brian Schottenheimer first announced the Smith injury, he noted that it would be a “four-to-six weeks” timeline for return. He also said at the time that Smith and the Cowboys were not sure when the injury happened.
Said Schottenheimer: “Over time. He’s such a tough guy. I can’t say enough about Tyler Smith and just the toughness, but at the end of the day, we can’t pinpoint when it happened, but it’s just one of things that, at the end of the day, we made the decision, we all did, that, hey, the best thing is to get in front of this thing, and it is a long season, so let’s get it fixed.”
And now, it is at least close to being fixed.
Cowboys Get Huge ‘Positive’ News on All-Pro’s Return