DALLAS — The story of the 2022 Dallas Cowboys has been one of having help along the way.
The Cowboys are about to get their final piece of All-Pro help when left tackle Tyron Smith rejoins the 53-man roster. Smith had spent the first 14 weeks on injured reserve as he worked his way back from a hamstring injury sustained late in preseason.
Smith was activated last week from injured reserve to practice, which provided a 21-day window for the former 2011 first-round pick to get ready to play. However, the Cowboys may not need that entire three-week period to make a decision on Smith.
According to Cowboys Owner, President and General Manager Jerry Jones, Smith could return to the lineup as soon as Week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“As I see it right now, he’ll be playing Sunday," Jones told "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 "The Fan" [KRLD-FM] on Tuesday. "We’ll see how that works. But I’m planning on and I know that he’s planning on having a good week of practice. Then, if so, we could see him get snaps Sunday.”
Having Smith back on the offensive line would free up future Hall-of-Famer Jason Peters to help out on the right side where the Cowboys sustained their latest injury. In Week 14's 27-23 win over the Houston Texans, right tackle Terence Steele tore his ACL, effectively ending his season. The Cowboys inserted second-year Josh Ball into the game, but went with Peters on the offense's game-winning, 98-yard drive.
Jones believes Peters, 40, will be able to play 60 to 70 snaps per game as the full-time right tackle.
"We’re so fortunate to have him," Jones said. "I think he’s a Hall-of-Famer ultimately. I was impressed with the way he stepped in on Sunday."
Jones is also confident the coaching staff led by Mike McCarthy will work with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and offensive line coach Joe Philbin to find an effective five-man combination on the line.
Said Jones: "One thing I want to brag on is how our coaching staff and how the players themselves in the offensive line have created us quite a bit of flexibility here. So, with the fact that we’ve got Tyron Smith coming back, that gives us some real options here on how to set this up here without [Terence] Steele. So, we’ll see how the week unfolds, but we got some real options here to go forward. That’s a real credit to your coaching staff.”
The Cowboys enter Week 15 with the fewest sacks surrendered in the NFL with 16. Adding Smith with four games to go should maintain the stalwart protection for quarterback Dak Prescott.
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