ARLINGTON – When the Dallas Cowboys take the field on Sunday night to open up the 2026 season, they will do so without their anchor on the offensive line.
All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday on his injured left thumb and is expected to miss four to six weeks, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced Monday.
Smith is expected to be placed on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least the first four games of the regular season.
Schottenheimer said that Smith has been dealing with a ligament issue in his thumb throughout training camp. Dallas had been hoping Smith could deal with the issue without surgery, but throughout camp, he could not perform at the level expected of him.
T.J. Bass is expected to fill in for Smith while he recovers. The fourth-year lineman has been with Dallas since joining the organization as an undrafted free agent and has made 10 starts over the past three seasons.
Schottenheimer said Monday the Cowboys have a "ton of confidence" in Bass, pointing to his previous work alongside center Cooper Beebe and left tackle Tyler Guyton.
Dallas enters the season expecting its offense to be one of the team's strengths, but protecting quarterback Dak Prescott while also establishing a consistent running game depend heavily on continuity up front.
The Cowboys should still have enough experience to withstand a short-term absence. Bass has played meaningful snaps, and Smith's four-to-six-week timetable leaves open the possibility that Dallas could get him back relatively early in the season.
But the margin for error has narrowed.
If Bass plays well and the rest of the line stays healthy, Smith's absence could amount to an early-season obstacle rather than a defining problem. If additional injuries occur or Dallas struggles to protect Prescott, however, losing Smith could have a much larger impact on the offense.
For now, Dallas has clarity.
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