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Tyron Smith is out indefensibly with a hamstring injury that could be season ending according to a report this morning. It looks like this plan to replace him is happening now, like it or not.
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Tyron Smith is out indefensibly with a hamstring injury that could be season ending according to a report this morning. It looks like this plan to replace him is happening now, like it or not.
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Dallas Cowboys: Trading for Isaiah Wynn, who says no?
by Reid Hanson1 day ago Follow @ReidDHanson
When news broke earlier this week that the Patriots were placing offensive tackle, Isaiah Wynn, on the trade market, Dallas Cowboys fans (and fans of about half-a-dozen other NFL teams) perked right up.
The Dallas Cowboys saw their offensive line implode last season, dooming the running game and the passing game down the stretch, and contributing to an early exit in the postseason.
After dispatching La’el Collins and Connor Williams in the offseason, the Cowboys are banking on third-year UDFA Terence Steele and the rookie Tyler Smith to pick up the slack. While both young players are promising prospects, they aren’t without concerns. Smith is a rookie making the switch from LT to LG. He was a highly penalized player at Tulsa and enters the NFL rawer than most offensive linemen taken in the first round.
Steele is equally as unstable. The tackle from Texas Tech showed major improvement in his play in 2021. He was an above average run blocker but a below average pass protector. The athletic lineman appears to have the same strength issues this year that he had last season, making him highly susceptible to bull-rushers.
These two issues combined with the always-uncertain health of Tyron Smith at LT, and the Cowboys have real cause for concern on their offensive line. Not only might it struggle to improve over last season, but it could be noticeably worse. Hence the interest in Isaiah Wynn.
The Dallas Cowboys would be wise to pursue a trade for Isaiah Wynn but they won’t and here’s why…
The Dallas Cowboys have the money. The Dallas Cowboys have the need. The player has value and versatility. Even still, the Dallas Cowboys likely say no. And that could be a mistake…Isaiah Wynn is on the trade block for a reason. The displaced LT was in a the midst of a position move. But struggles adapting to RT has bumped him down the depth chart in New England. Health has been, and remains, much of a factor as well. Wynn has sustained multiple injuries in his short NFL career and as an undersized tackle, may always have durability issues hanging over his head.
Wynn’s best positions, LT and LG, don’t match up with Dallas’ weakest position, RT. So even if the Cowboys wanted to bring him in to replace Steele, it’s hard to definitively say he’d be an upgrade. And for $9.6 million more in salary (over Steele), he’d better be an upgrade.
So you can see why the Cowboys may not be champing at the bit to get a deal done.
But even still, the Cowboys have dry powder for a reason (reference to money available). Contrary to what Dallas says, they don’t need it to afford the upcoming contracts for CeeDee Lamb or Trevon Diggs.
The Cowboys also have needs that may be getting overlooked. In addition to the questionable play at RT, the Cowboys are also weary of the LT situation with Tyron Smith. Smith has missed more time in camp than made. His injury history is significant and consistent (in a bad way), and over the last two seasons he’s only played in 13 of 33 regular season games. He’s going to miss time this year, we know it.
So, you want to keep developing Terence Steele at RT, huh? That’s fine, Wynn is still worth it this year. $10 million is a ton of money to pay a swing tackle but given Tyron Smith’s injury history, he could be starting upwards of nine games on the left side alone.
Terence’s Steele’s extremely cheap contract affords the Dallas Cowboys luxuries such as these. The Cowboys have the second most unspent money in the NFL at their disposal that will otherwise go mostly to waste (let’s not fool ourselves). Wynn would provide insulation at LT, RT and LG and probably won’t cost an arm and a leg to acquire given his sorted injury history and unrestricted free agent status in seven months.
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In their defense, they did draft a guy in the 1st rd because they think he can be a franchise LT.
The plan was not to play him there now though.
If you remember, this is also the reason they were so high on the guy the Saints drafted, for the same reason.
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He's got a guard's body. Sign Fisher or Peters and be done with it.
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How Dallas Cowboys can fill gaping hole opened by LT Tyron Smith injury
What are the in-house and free agent options the Cowboys may consider with their star left tackle likely sidelined for months?
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How Dallas Cowboys can fill gaping hole opened by LT Tyron Smith injury
playADLearn More
:13
9:58 AM ET
Todd ArcherESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys were thinking about life without left tackle Tyron Smith in the spring when they decided to select Tyler Smith in the first round of the draft.
That life is about to start a lot sooner than the Cowboys had hoped with Smith suffering a torn left hamstring that could force him to miss multiple months, sources told ESPN.
How the Cowboys handle Smith’s absence, perhaps through November, depending on further evaluations of the injury he suffered in Wednesday’s practice, will determine if his potential return later in the season will be the most prudent course of action.
Replacing Smith is not easy.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Smith has the highest run block win rate (78.6%) over the past four seasons (minimum 900 run block plays). Over the past five seasons, running back Ezekiel Elliott has averaged 4.5 yards per carry with Smith on the field and 4 yards with him missing. In that same time span, 12% of Elliott’s runs of 10 yards or more have come with Smith on the field; 9% without him.
In the passing game over the past two seasons, the Cowboys have averaged 7.8 yards per attempt with Smith and 7.1 yards without him. The sack rate goes from 4.2% with him to 6.2% without him.
For his career, the Cowboys are 17-16 without Smith, including a 4-2 mark last season when Terence Steele started at left tackle.
What can the Cowboys do?
Begin the future now and start Tyler Smith at left tackle
Smith split his work in the spring between guard and tackle, but during training camp and in the first two preseason games he exclusively played left guard as he competed with Connor McGovern. On Wednesday, Mike McCarthy said McGovern would be the starter if the season started now, as Smith is dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out the last two days.At Tulsa, Smith started 21 games at left tackle the last two seasons. He was flagged 16 times last season (12 holding penalties), and it might not be the fairest move to move him back to tackle with not many practices before the Sept. 11 season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rearrange the offensive line
The Cowboys could move Steele to left tackle and put Josh Ball, Matt Waletzko or Aviante Collins at right tackle, with Zack Martin as a last resort at right tackle.They opted to cut La’el Collins in the offseason, in part because they felt Steele was ready to take the right tackle spot. He started six games at left tackle last season and has started 21 games at right tackle in his first two NFL seasons.
He is capable of playing the left side, but he has not taken any work there this summer.
Martin played right tackle in 2020 only after the Cowboys ran out of workable options, and he suffered a calf strain. He is one of the best guards in football but showed he could handle the right tackle spot in his brief work there. It's not ideal, but, again, life isn't fair sometimes.
Next man up with Ball or Waletzko
Ball was a fourth-round pick in 2021 from Marshall and did not play a snap last season because of an ankle injury. Waletzko was a fifth-round pick in 2022 from North Dakota and missed most of training camp because of a shoulder injury that will eventually require surgery.The Cowboys live in a "draft and develop" world these days, but choosing to go with untested tackles to protect quarterback Dak Prescott’s blind side seems to be a gamble.
Make a trade or sign a free agent
Always easier said than done, but there are some veteran free agents available who could be palatable, especially at this juncture of the summer. Eric Fisher started 15 games at left tackle for the Indianapolis Colts last season. He was a Pro Bowler for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 but suffered a torn Achilles in the playoffs. He is 31.
The Cowboys know Jason Peters well, having competed against him for so long when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles. He started 15 games at left tackle last season for the Chicago Bears, but he is 40 years old.
According to reports, the New England Patriots have considered dealing former first-round pick Isaiah Wynn, who started 33 of the 34 games he has played after missing his rookie season. He is scheduled to make $10.4 million this season. While the Cowboys have the necessary salary-cap space to make a move, the price to get him could be too high.
theoneandonly
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Another guy that cant stay healthy. Has missed a huge percent of games in his career.
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Dude no way on Peters. He is old as fucking dirt and fatter than any of your choco bunnies. He was horrible last season.
Fisher wasnt much better, but was coming off an achilles injury and had a couple other injuries during the season, if he is healthy he is worth a conversation for sure. Supposedly he has turned down 9 offers though so he might be looking for a huge pay day.
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Yep.
He isnt exactly the proto type LT either in terms of build, hence why I think new England was trying him at other positions.
Still, if healthy and not too cost prohibitive he might be worth a serious look.
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Expect a 10 game ban for Zeke for this.
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Bills' Matt Araiza, two San Diego State players accused in lawsuit of gang-raping 17-year-old, per report
Araiza and two former college teammates are accused of a rape that allegedly occurred last year
www.cbssports.com
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Definitely making the team and looks like high upside player for the future.
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If he is healthy and didnt cost more than a conditional late rd pick or a fringe player straight up, I'd have some interest.
He wouldn't be any sort of long term solution, but for this season he might be ok for us. He's a free agent after the season.