A healthy Tyron Smith’s milkshake may bring Cowboys to Super Bowl yard

Is the the end of the line, or the beginning of the second act? After four straight seasons of playing in 13 games, the injuries finally became too much for Dallas Cowboys star left tackle Tyron Smith. The ninth-overall selection in the 2011 draft out of USC had been a stalwart on the blind side for first Tony Romo and for the previous four years Dak Prescott. However it all became too much in 2020 when he was able to play in just two of the first four games of the season and none after that.

When he’s a healthy left tackle, damn right he’s better than yours. But for years Smith had operated under the even-when-injured-he’s-one-of-the-games-best mantra. The elbow, knee, and especially the neck and back injuries were just too much in 2020; enough to make both Kelis and Khia blush.

Now, after offseason surgery, Smith has returned and the hope is he’s ready to continue on his Hall of Fame trajectory he established with seven consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, two First-Team All-Pros and two Second-Team All-Pros. Still just 30 years old, Smith has plenty of time to cement his legacy if he so chooses to. The league still respects him, the game still respects him as witnessed by Madden 2022 rating him as the third-best Cowboy player heading into 2021.

Our player profile countdown to the regular season continues with No. 77 Tyron Smith.

Background Details

Position: OT Age: 30 Height: 6-foot-5 Weight: 320 pounds Hometown: Los Angeles, CA High School: Rancho Verde High School College: USC Draft: First-round pick in 2011 (9th overall)

Statistics and Salary Details

Awards Won

Pro Bowls: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 First-Team All Pro: 2014, 2016 Second-Team All Pro: 2013, 2015 NFL All-Decade's Team: 2010s First-Team All-Pac-10: 2010

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Player Profile

Smith was the first Dallas Cowboys player to break the $100 million contract plateau, when the club inked him to an amazing 8-year extension prior to the 2014 season worth $97.6 million in new money on top of the two years that remained. At the time the deal was seen as a tremendous accomplishment by the front office, capitalizing on the relationship they had forged with Smith during the first part of his career. The organization supported him through all that Smith endured for years at the hands of his family as he dealt with his ascent to professional athlete. Just one example, the Cowboys security team had to remove one of his brothers from training camp practice in Oxnard, CA. It may seem weird to observers the end of that agreement is now in sight, with the Cowboys in a position to now add voidable years to the end of the deal to keep his salary cap hits low. For many years the club would just pull the restructure trigger and the requisite five-year dispersal of cap charges landed on the tail end of the 10-year agreement. When Smith went out last season, playing through Week 1, then missing two weeks only to be done for the year after returning in Week 4, the retirement conversation was hot and heavy. Smith though, seems happy with the results of the surgery on an injury that has plagued him throughout his career and is ready for the season. "It’s been an issue pretty much ever since I’ve been playing ball, since I got that first stinger way back when I first started. Ever since I’ve been there, it just started getting worse and worse as I got older. Didn’t know how bad it was until they actually went in. Just glad they caught it in time." He continued on to say that some of his other ailments are connected. "When you’re dealing with a neck or a spine, everything’s all connected. So once that got fixed, everything kind of released and started feeling more mobility." Even if fully recovered from the spinal issues, the rest of Smith's body has taken a beating over the years. Age issues manifest themselves in injuries and longer recovery times, so the Cowboys have to be remaining cognizant that the end could come sooner rather than later. Until that time comes though, fans can expect to still see an upper echelon left tackle on the field on Sundays, protecting the quarterback's blindside with the speed, strength and grace of one of the best to ever do it.

This profile is part of our countdown series to the regular season. For the full 90-man roster, go here. For our 53-man roster prediction, go here.

• No. 99: DT Justin Hamilton

• No. 98: DT Quinton Bohanna

• No. 97: DL Ron'Dell Carter

• No. 96: DT Neville Gallimore

• No. 95: DT Brent Urban

• No. 94: DE Randy Gregory

• No. 93: DE Tarell Basham

• No. 92: DE Dorance Armstrong

• No. 91: DL Carlos Watkins

• No. 90: DE DeMarcus Lawrence

• No. 89: TE Blake Jarwin

• No. 88: WR CeeDee Lamb

• No. 87: TE Jeremy Sprinkle

• No. 86: TE Dalton Schultz

• No. 85: WR Noah Brown

• No. 84: TE Sean McKeon

• No. 83: WR Brennan Eagles

• No. 81: WR Simi Fehoko

• No. 79: OT Ty Nsekhe

• No. 78: OT Terence Steele

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