Tyron Smith Dallas Cowboys August 10, 2019; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith (77) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Matt Clapp on

With the 2022 NFL regular season just over two weeks away, the Dallas Cowboys have lost one of their most important players to a “severe” hamstring injury.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith suffered a torn left hamstring during Wednesday’s practice that will keep Smith out “indefinitely and could cost him multiple months of the 2022 season.”

Cowboys beat reporter Todd Archer of ESPN refers to the injury as “severe,” and adds that more tests will be done on Thursday.

Video of Smith suffering the injury emerged earlier on Wednesday evening.

This is awful news for Smith, and it’s a devastating blow to the Dallas offensive line.

Smith, 31, is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, including in 2021. He’s also been named a first-team All-Pro twice (and second-team twice). He’s been one of the best offensive tackles — a premium position — on the planet during his career and has had the very important task of being Dak Prescott’s blindside protector (to go with opening up running lanes for Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, and company).

It’s particularly brutal for the Cowboys when considering that their depth at offensive tackle doesn’t look good on the surface. And they probably should’ve done more at the position over the offseason, especially when considering that Smith has missed at least three games due to injuries in six straight seasons (he played 11 games in 2021 and two games in 2020).

Tyler Smith, a rookie first-round pick (22nd overall) out of Tulsa, has been playing left guard in preseason and training camp for the Cowboys, but he may have to slide over to left tackle now. Left tackle is where he played in college, but there’s a big difference between playing left tackle at Tulsa and playing it in the NFL, especially with zero NFL games under his belt.

2021 fourth-round pick Josh Ball is also an option, but he too has never played in an NFL game (due to an ankle injury suffered last year).

Here’s a look at how the NFL world is reacting to the Tyron Smith injury news:

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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