Jerry Jones reveals Tyler Smith will move to LG upon Tyron Smith return
The Dallas Cowboys lost a huge piece of their offensive line when veteran tackle Tyron Smith suffered an avulsion fracture in his knee back in August. There was a palpable sense of worry about what would happen with an offensive line full of young, inexperienced players.
The good news is that the offensive line has held up well, thanks to excellent play from rookie Tyler Smith, Pro Bowler Zack Martin, and more. The even better news is that the team continually promised fans that the veteran Smith would be back at some point this season despite the severity of the injury.
Just over three weeks ago, Dallas Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan that the former starting LT could be back in “three to four weeks.” Since then, we have continually seen Smith on the field working with Director of Rehabilitation Britt Brown and working his way back to getting healthy.
On Tuesday morning, we got another update on Smith, this time from GM Jerry Jones. In his weekly appearance with 105.3 The Fan, the Cowboys owner was very adamant about where the veteran would go upon his return.
“Tyron will be the left tackle when he returns,” Jones said.
Tyron Smith works toward his return. He was on resistance chords with #Cowboys director of rehabilitation Britt Brown. Owner Jerry Jones told radio audience Smith will play LT when healthy with rookie Tyler Smith moving to LG. pic.twitter.com/9VTVKbTftu
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) November 22, 2022
Cowboys GM Jerry Jones reveals that Tyron Smith will take over at left tackle when he returns from injury
This means that rookie Tyler Smith, who was initially drafted as a first-rounder to be the future left tackle for this team, will move over to left guard.
How will the young player make such a transition?
"“Easily,” Jones said. “I don’t mean to make something difficult in the very essence of playing tackle or guard, but that’s what they were doing was giving him reps there in anticipation of that or giving him reps in anticipation of [Jason] Peters basically playing left tackle in situations and him playing guard. But position flex as you well know is just tremendously valued in an offensive lineman, and we got some great coaches out there, and they want to develop that flex all the way across that offensive line.”"
The younger Smith spent time in the offseason getting reps at left guard while the older Smith was still playing. The rookie deserves the utmost credit for being able to stand his ground in a position that is normally manned by a 31-year-old future Hall of Famer.
While Tyler has played well, the Cowboys are understandably going to make use of getting one of the best players on the roster back on the field. The younger Smith even got an NFL preview of that in Sunday’s blowout win over the Vikings. Once all the main starters were off the field in the fourth quarter, Tyler transitioned to left guard and Kellen Moore stuck Jason Peters in at the left tackle position.
Although it wasn’t a full game and was amidst the end of a blowout, Tyler did look like he was handling the position well. The only question mark here is about what happens to Connor McGovern who has currently been occupying the left guard spot.
Regardless, having both Smiths on the left side could be a huge boost for this offense soon.
