One of the biggest questions the Cowboys had coming into training camp in Oxnard this summer was who, exactly, would be playing left tackle? Former first-round pick Tyler Guyton was the obvious No. 1 choice, but he has struggled with health and performance in the two years he’s been in the NFL. The second option was Nate Thomas, a seventh-round pick in the same draft as Guyton (2024) who weighs in at 331 pounds and would give Dallas a potentially massive option at the position. But Thomas has often played like a seventh-rounder when given a chance. Then there’s the Tyler Smith option.
That is the option the Cowboys have tried to stop talking about as the offseason has moved forward. But it is how the team finished up last year, with Guyton out because of an ankle injury and Thomas benched because he was simply getting beaten too often. The Cowboys put TJ Bass, one of the better backup linemen in the league, at Smith’s left guard spot and moved Smith out to left tackle.
And coach Brian Schottenheimer said at the time that arrangement would be an option for 2026.
Cowboys Not Certain at Left Tackle
So, as training camp has unfolded, we’ve seen three things happen in succession–Guyton has had his struggles, and Thomas has not put up the kind of competition at the position coaches would have hoped for. In fact, some observers reported that the competition was over and Guyton had won the job, until Schottenheimer snapped back to say that was not the case and that Guyton had not won the job.
Now, a new wrinkle: Bass is getting more and more work with the first team at left guard. Put it all together and it’s not hard to see why the conspiracy theories suggesting Smith will wind up at tackle gaining steam.
Brian Schottenheimer Hints That Tyler Smith Is Not Moving
But again, Schottenheimer shut that down. The Cowboys know Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro as a guard. They don’t know how he would hold up as a tackle over 17 games. They really want to keep Smith in the spot at which they know he excels rather than risking diminishing the whole line by tinkering with his position.
Schottenheimer was clear that Bass getting reps is not an indication that the Cowboys are prepping for a Guyton move.
He said: “This time of year when you get going, you start doing different things with different guys who have played a lot of football. It’s really just us limiting reps and letting other guys work and stuff like that. But nothing more than that.”
Cowboys Have ‘Limited’ Tyler Smith
Smith is only 25, but this is his fifth training camp with the Cowboys so he does not quite need the level of work that his less experienced teammates do. It’s also important to get Bass some time with the first team because there is a good chance he plays a role during the season–in his three years with the Cowboys, he has played at least 300 snaps each season as an injury replacement.
ESPN’s Todd Archer noted on Twitter/X: “Tyler Smith has been limited to a degree in some team drills the last couple of practices with T.J. Bass working at left guard with the first team. But Smith has not taken a day or or skipped an 11-on-11 period. Just maintenance for somebody who’s played lot of football.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Cowboys Shut Down Theories on Moving All-Pro appeared first on HEAVY.