DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Cowboys drafted Tyler Smith in the first round of this year's draft to be their left tackle of the future, but they're getting their first glimpse of him at that spot this week.
Smith returned to practice on Monday after sitting out practice last week and the final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks with a sprained ankle. All indications are pointing toward Smith being thrust into the starting left tackle job after Tyron Smith was lost until at least December with a torn hamstring.
During his appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said "it's safe to say" that Smith will be the starting left tackle when the Cowboys line up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. But there is one caveat to add...
"We've got to get him out here and get him practiced here over the next couple of weeks relative to any issue he had with a little high ankle (sprain). But we don't think that's serious enough to limit his preparation.
"Now, what is the case is he hasn't been there at left tackle. He is a rookie. But he's a first-round pick and he deserved to be a first-round pick in my mind. And so we knew - we just didn't want to come any earlier than it needed - but we knew we had to get ready to replace our left tackle and he was the pick."
Jones' comments come one day after Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said the "plan" is for someone "in-house" to start at left tackle against Tampa Bay. That "plan" doesn't prevent the team from adding more depth to the offensive line, which they will be looking to do this week with teams trimming their rosters down to 53 players by Tuesday's 3 p.m. CT deadline.
“We feel good about where we're going and what our situation looks like. I saw it always, we're always looking to upgrade our roster and certainly, we'll look to continue to make ourselves better," Stephen Jones said on the K&C Masterpiece. "Certainly, the offensive line is one where we aren’t necessarily loaded with depth there, but something that we'll continue to look at as things come to fruition over the next two or three days as teams are going to have to expose a lot of players (to waivers). We'll look at that and we'll look at the veterans that are out there and see if we need to beef up right there."
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