An already disappointing 2020 season has taken a devastating turn for the worse for the Dallas Cowboys. Starting left tackle Tyron Smith will undergo surgery to deal with an ongoing neck issue, head coach Mike McCarthy announced on Friday morning. Smith will miss the remainder of the season.
“It’s become official, just speaking to everybody involved,” McCarthy told media on a conference call on Friday, “Tyron will continue the process of going through surgery. This is a correctable situation. He obviously will not be available the rest of the season. Clearly, the focus is on him personally. I think the surgery is scheduled for next week.”
Smith missed the second and third games of this season with stingers but returned last week to play all 82 offensive snaps in the team’s loss to Cleveland. But more missed practices this past week led to medical consultations, which have now convinced the seven-time Pro Bowler to shut it down for the year.
McCarthy said Smith’s stingers have been a recurring problem dating beyond just the 2020 season and will only continue if not treated through the scheduled procedure.
“My understanding is it’s something that he’s been dealing with for some time,” McCarthy said, “and I’ve also been told that it’s a correctable surgery. If he doesn’t have the surgery, he’ll just continue to deal with this in the manner of how this season has gone. This is something that needs to be done.”
Now the club will be forced to continue to shuffle linemen, as they have all season long, as they simultaneously deal with the absence of starting right tackle La’el Collins and center Joe Looney.
“Your offensive and defensive linemen are clearly vital to your success,” said the coach. “It’s something that we feel very strong about, our linemen and the depth of our linemen. The game starts at the line of scrimmage and the importance of playing to that mindset will never change here.”
Rookie center Tyler Biadasz has stepped into the starting lineup. Terence Steele and Brandon Knight have also played, with varying degrees of success thus far in 2020. New bodies have been added to the practice squad just this week, but McCarthy wouldn’t divulge details about exactly who will play where come Sunday.
“We’re always going to try to put our best players out there that are ready for the challenge. And it’s not as much about what’s their personnel grade or the perception of where they rank. There’s a lot that goes into this. You have eight offensive linemen that play; obviously, you want to have the five that play with the highest level of cohesiveness, connection, communication. That’s something you continue to work on.”
The war of attrition rages on. While 2020 seems to have taken a costlier toll on the league’s superstar players than in years past, losing players to injuries has always been a part of the game.
“Make no mistake about it, ” Jerry Jones explained on 105.3 The Fan on Friday. “You don’t play pro football unless you factor in injury. You know you’re going to have them; you just don’t know where and what area you’re going to have them in. That’s what makes this such a challenging game. That’s why it’s so great when you win: because you’ve gone through a lot of challenges.”
McCarthy also chalked the injuries up to business as usual but admitted that losing so many offensive linemen in such a short span has made it especially tough for the team to find its footing this season.
“It’s life in the NFL,” he offered. “It just comes at you different ways. The unfortunate part of this game is, players have injuries. When they all come in the same position this quickly… We’re always starting that season where you’re trying to get the young guys to close that gap with your experienced players. And just to have this type of volume of losing your top three tackles this quickly, it makes the challenge a little tougher.”
The team may be losing No. 77 on the field, but the two-time All-Pro still plans on making his presence felt around the facility, doing what he can to help coach up the younger players who will be tasked with taking his place protecting Dak Prescott, and blocking for Ezekiel Elliott as the Cowboys try to turn the season around.
“After speaking with Tyron, that was one of the first things that he made the point of with me,” McCarthy said. “He wants to be here and make sure he’s helping the tackles every single day. I think that speaks to him as a man and a leader.”
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