Cowboys VP Stephen Jones reveals plan to replace Tyron Smith at left tackle

All signs point toward Tyler Smith being the future left tackle for the Dallas Cowboys – and Cowboys Vice President Stephen Jones’ latest comments only solidify this notion further. That means the recent injury to current starting left tackle Tyron Smith could hotshot the rookie from Tulsa into his natural position on Dak Prescott‘s blindside.

“Good news is we addressed it in the draft,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “From the get go we said [Tyler Smith] is our future LT, the future just might be sooner than later, not unlike Dak [Prescott] (in 2016). He had to step up when Tony [Romo] got hurt. We didn’t go get a veteran QB.”

Tyler Smith has been practicing at the guard positions this offseason, as veteran Tyron Smith has been with the team since 2011 and has held down Prescott’s blindside since his career began in Dallas. In 11 seasons, he has earned two First-Team All-Pro bids, as well as eight Pro Bowls – all coming within the last nine seasons with 2020 being the only exception as he only played in two games.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

With Tyron Smith out, Tyler Smith is up. Still, the rookie is dealing with a nagging ankle injury himself. The general consensus is that he won’t miss any extended time during the regular season, but still sat out of last Friday’s preseason finale last Friday as precaution. When he returns to practice, it might be at a different position.

“[Tackle] is where played [he] in college,” Jones said. “It’s not foreign to him to step out there and be left tackle. And that’s why we kept him on the left side because there are a lot of things that go hand in hand. That’s why it was important to really work him over there rather than move him over to right tackle. The left side works good, and we’ll see.

“We haven’t totally made the final decision exactly what we’re going to do, but (by) the beginning of the week we’ll have made that call.”

With the start of the regular season still being just over two weeks away, Smith being out recovering from a minor injury may not be the worst thing in the world for Dallas right now. Smith believes he’ll be back on the field before their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and if Smith is correct, there is little to be concerned about.