Perhaps the biggest area of concern for Cowboys fans heading into the 2023 regular season was the offensive line, both in terms of the health of the starters as well as the quantity and quality of the depth behind them.
Three weeks into the season, both will be tested even further.
The fabled “best five” linemen employed by the team still have never taken a snap together. And at the rate they’re going, Cowboys Nation shouldn’t be holding its collective breath for it to happen this Sunday in Glendale, as three-fifths of the starting offensive line is now at 50/50 to play.
Veteran left tackle Tyron Smith popped up on the team’s injury watch list on Saturday with a knee issue. Despite not appearing on the practice reports all week long, the eight-time Pro Bowler is suddenly considered questionable for Week 3’s game versus the Arizona Cardinals.
Tyron Smith (knee) has been added to the #Cowboys injury report on Saturday vs. Cardinals — listed as questionable.
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) September 23, 2023
Smith joins right guard Zack Martin and center Tyler Biadasz as being questionable to play on Sunday. Martin was rolled up on last week against the Jets and came out briefly, though he said he could have stayed in the game had the score been closer. He did not practice all week.
Biadasz has been dealing with some sort of hamstring issue since Thursday. The team elevated two other centers from the practice squad for the gameday roster, perhaps signaling that his injury could well impact his playing status.
Martin, Biadasz, and Smith will reportedly travel with the team to Arizona, but determinations on their playing statuses will likely not come until Sunday.
[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]
Smith, who will turn 33 later this year, has famously not played a full season since 2015 due to a variety of injuries.
Second-year lineman Tyler Smith is expected to make his 2023 debut after his own hamstring injury kept him sidelined in Weeks 1 and 2. Chuma Edoga exited last week’s game with an elbow injury; he is back to full go and could be inserted into the starting lineup depending on how much shuffling the Cowboys have to do within a unit that has given up just one sack this season.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
[mm-video type=video id=01havye9q0pkhdg4ejyg playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01havye9q0pkhdg4ejyg/01havye9q0pkhdg4ejyg-6e913fec519816cc75e86a691c5a1404.jpg]
[lawrence-newsletter]