Tyron Smith has been back at practice for all of two days now.
The early reviews from his teammates, though, are that No. 77 is still not of this world.
“It’s ridiculous how somebody could take that many months off and not lose a beat at all,” said current left guard Connor McGovern, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
“Physically, it doesn’t look like he took any time off. You look at him now; he’s bigger than he was when he got hurt.”
Smith has been sidelined since an Aug. 24 injury in which he tore his left hamstring off the knee bone. His practice window opened on Wednesday; the team has three weeks to move him to the active roster.
While that could happen in time for Sunday’s game versus Houston, most observers believe the Cowboys will give him another week of practice and plug him back in at left tackle for Week 15’s game in Jacksonville.
For now, just having him on the practice field is music to his teammates’ ears.
“Oh, yeah, just to hear his grunts again. Tyron is very loud when he’s blocking and pass setting. When you hear that, you realize that guy is back,” quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters Thursday. “I mean, the guy is a gold jacket. When he gets on the field, you see why. It’s going to be huge to have him back.”
Head coach Mike McCarthy gave a positive review of the eight-time Pro Bowler’s first day back and promised a gradual ramp up to his 2022 debut.
“I thought he looked good,” the coach said prior to Thursday’s work session. “He’s in good shape. This will be a good day for him today. We’ll increase his workload. I thought Tyron had a good, solid day.”
The former top-ten draft pick may have spent the last three months rehabbing his leg, but Smith apparently skip any upper-body days at the gym, either. McGovern and McCarthy both commented on Smith’s comic-book-superhero-sized arms, clad as usual in his customary protective braces.
Tyron Smith entrenando con Isaac Alarcón 👀 Ufff, ¿quién más anda emocionado por el regreso? 💪 pic.twitter.com/fBZiXXvx9c
— Somos Cowboys (@SomosCowboys) December 8, 2022
“Those damn braces are huge,” the head coach laughed.
“They’re not even elbow braces,” said McGovern. “They’re knee braces for his arms. I was making fun of him, that he needs bigger ones now.”
And more than one Cowboys player confirmed that those almost-32-year-old guns still do serious damage.
“You could ask the guys who were going in [drills] against him: his punch is the same,” McGovern added. “Pissing guys off already, going 100 percent.”
“He was out there striking guys,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said after Wednesday’s practice (which was non-padded, even). “I feel bad for those D-ends he was going against. I’m sure they are going to have bruises on their chests tonight.”
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