The 2022 Dallas Cowboys have championship aspirations, based on a top defense, Dak Prescott at quarterback, an above-average backfield, and a receiver group they hope will be fine without Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson Jr. But both in the Jimmy Johnson heyday of the early 1990s, and in the recent seasons when the franchise has been at its best, everything revolved around the offensive line.
That recent line has taken its hits in personnel, and there was no bigger hit for this season than the knee/hamstring injury that will prevent left tackle Tyron Smith for most, if not all, of the upcoming season. The Cowboys’ 2021 splits with and without Smith, who hasn’t played a full season since 2015, were pretty stark, and we have them all right here.
Why Tyron Smith’s injury is a massive blow to the Dallas Cowboys’ offense
Point is, the Cowboys aren’t nearly as good when Smith isn’t on their line, and he won’t be for a very long while. To prevent too much attrition, and to save rookie first-round pick Tyler Smith from a starting NFL left tackle spot for which he is absolutely not ready, Dallas signed veteran left tackle Jason Peters to a one-year deal on Monday. The Cowboys will start Peters off on the practice squad until he’s in game shape (he was a free agent all the way through the preseason), and get him in there as soon as possible,
Peters is 40 years old. This will be his 18th NFL season. Based on his work with the Chicago Bears in 2021, does he have enough left in the tank to be a Tyron Smith replacement in a positive sense?