The news that Tyler Smith would be placed on short-term IR hit the Dallas Cowboys and their fanbase like a freight train on Monday. Suddenly, things unraveled as fans questioned the franchise's handling of his injury, and Smith's absence was a multi-prong disaster for Brian Schottenheimer's team.
To replace Smith on the active roster once he was officially designated for the IR, Dallas promoted a familiar face in Nick Leverett from the practice squad to serve as another backup. To fill his spot on the practice squad, the Cowboys brought on interior offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson.
Tomlinson was a first-round pick in 2015 and is a veteran player with tons of experience in this league. But he hasn't performed as well in recent seasons, and if he was the next-best option after Smith went down, then Jerry Jones and the front office look like geniuses for keeping Leverett around.
New Cowboys OL Laken Tomlinson isn't the player he once was
In the early stages of his career, Tomlinson was practically a league-average guard. He was always a better pass-protector than run-blocker, but Tomlinson was never really elite or even great, per se, which is why he's now been on seven teams going into his 12th season.
Now, Tomlinson was technically a Pro Bowler in 2021 with the San Francisco 49ers, albeit an alternate, but it has been all downhill from there. In stints with the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, Tomlinson was a below-average player, and last year, he hit a new low.
As a member of the Houston Texans, Tomlinson couldn't even crack a poor offensive line, playing only 284 offensive snaps all season. Pro Football Focus gave him a 55.9 overall grade, and a 55.4 pass-blocking mark. Even his strengths have left him now at age 34.
Plus, Tomlinson is practically pigeonholed at left guard, so asking him to do much more than that may actually be asking too much. Is Tomlinson a bad practice squad signing? Not necessarily. He is at least playable if the Cowboys really get into a bind in the coming weeks.
But this just shows the quality of player that is left on the current market, which should make Dallas fans thrilled that the front office had the foresight to bring Leverett back to the practice squad after risking him on waivers during cutdowns.
Nick Leverett will be a fine backup in Tyler Smith's absence
Leverett, in all honesty, had a serious case to make the 53-man team. In so many ways, it was night and day from last preseason, as Leverett was much more consistent in pass protection and improved dramatically as a run-blocker.
His move to center definitely helped that, but Leverett can also play multiple guard spots. In a way, he is now effectively the backup at all three interior spots, unless the team believes in Ajani Cornelius in his first season moving in from tackle. Regardless, Leverett adds real value to this football team.
If Leverett was claimed on waivers lke Trevor Keegan or not brought back to the practice squad like Jay Toia, then the Cowboys may be out of luck right now, as they'd be hoping Tomlinson can immediately help on gamedays after joining late and not knowing the playbook.
Keeping Leverett around has now proven to be a stroke of genius, though, as he can hold down the fort for a few weeks with Smith back and let Tomlinson learn the playbook for at least a little bit before ever potentially being called upon.
Add us as a preferred source on Google