The Dallas Cowboys may see the return of their left tackle in the upcoming season if Tyron Smith has his way. As reported by The Dallas Morning News, Smith has expressed his desire to play another season in Dallas.
Selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Smith is poised to enter free agency after completing his eight-year, $97.6 million contract extension signed in 2014.
Notably, Smith signed a below-market deal and never sought renegotiation or extension, expressing gratitude to the Cowboys and the Jones family for their support during challenging times for his own family.
Despite battling injuries in recent seasons, Smith has consistently been one of the NFL’s premier left tackles when healthy. In the first five seasons of his NFL career, he missed just one game due to injury. Subsequently, he missed three games in each of the following four years.
However, since 2020, he has seen limited game time, playing in two, 11, four, and 13 games. Despite injury setbacks this past season, Smith delivered one of his best performances in years.
Despite amassing 13 years of experience, Tyron Smith remains youthful at 33 years old, not reaching 34 until late in the 2024 season. The highly decorated offensive lineman, an eight-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro, is poised to be one of the premier players in his position during the upcoming offseason.
In the event that Smith and the Cowboys fail to reach an agreement for his return, his services will likely be in high demand on the open market.
The Cowboys initially drafted Tyler Smith in 2022 with the intention of grooming him as Tyron’s potential successor at left tackle. However, in 2023, they shifted Tyler to guard, deploying both Smiths side by side, resulting in both earning Second Team All-Pro honors.
While the long-term plan appears to keep Tyler at guard, the Cowboys may eventually need to identify Tyron’s successor at left tackle. Given Tyron Smith’s stellar performance in the past season, it would be prudent for the Cowboys to consider bringing him back for another year.
