Cowboys Insider Shares Tyler Smith Injury Timeline Amid Questions on Surgery Decision

There is a bit of a controversy surrounding the Dallas Cowboys and guard Tyler Smith, and it revolves around the team's decision to not have Smith get thumb surgery sooner.

Of course, the Cowboys announced on Monday that Smith would have surgery and land on injured reserve, which means he'll miss the first four games of the 2026 campaign, at least, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer said it could be up to six weeks.

Schottenheimer said the Cowboys couldn't say for sure when the injury happened but said "yeah" when asked if Smith's thumb was bothering him the entire camp.

"I think at the end of the day, you always see if you can kind of play through these things," Schottenheimer said when asked if there was any thought to do the surgery sooner.

"He's done things like that, like a lot of guys have they've been able to play through them," Schotty added. "Unfortunately, when you're an offensive lineman, grip strength and things like that are really important."

it's not hard to see why Cowboys fans are frustrated here.

After all, had the Cowboys decided to get this surgery for Smith much sooner, he might have missed very little, if any time to start the season. Now, the Cowboys might not have their best lineman for over one-third of the 2026 campaign.

Tyler Smith injury timeline

Dallas Cowboys guard Tyler Smith. — Dallas Cowboys guard Tyler Smith (73) blocks against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With questions about why the Cowboys didn't have Smith get the surgery sooner, ESPN's Todd Archer has provided a rough timeline of events detailing when the injury occurred and when Smith and Dallas decided to have the surgery.

Archer reports that Smith had issues late in the team's time in Oxnard, which would be around the middle of August, and after trying to "devise something that would allow him to play" and failing, surgery was the course of action.

"Late in Oxnard, he experienced issues with his thumb," Archer wrote. "Upon returning to Frisco, the Cowboys had two padded practices and attempted to see if they could devise something that would allow him to play. When it didn't work out, surgery became the best option."

Archer goes on to say that "even if he had surgery upon his return from Oxnard, he was likely going to go on IR and miss the first four games anyway because they would have needed a roster spot."

We would push back on the need for a roster spot, as Dallas had T.J. Bass on the 53 and ended up carrying three quarterbacks and six wide receivers, two things the team didn't need to do. There would have been ample room for another guard if needed.

As far as the timeline for when the Cowboys knew about Smith's injury is concerned, the final practice in Oxnard was the joint session with the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 18.

If Smith had the surgery on that date, the fourth week of Smith's recovery would have come in Week 2 of the regular season, which means he might have only missed two games. Bear in mind, Dallas probably knew before that based on Archer saying "late in Oxnard" and not at the end of Oxnard, so Smith possible could have been back from surgery sooner.

Potential for faster than expected recovery

Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Dr. Steven Shin will be doing the surgery for Smith's thumb.

The good news there is that Shin did the hand operation on Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer last year and Mateer recovered faster than expected.

"Tyler Smith’s surgery will be done by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles," Harris said. "Shin earned fame last year for his hand operation on Oklahoma QB John Mateer that expedited his recovery timeline."

The Cowboys and their fans will obviously be hoping for a similar outcome and maybe Smith won't need more than the four weeks mandated by his placement on injured reserve.

In good hands

Dallas Cowboys guard T.J. Bass. — Dallas Cowboys guard T.J. Bass (66) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

There is no fully replacing an elite guard like Tyler Smith, but the Cowboys are in a better spot than most teams because T.J. Bass is a solid backup guard.

In five starts and 352 snaps in 2025, Bass gave up four pressures and zero sacks while posting Pro Football Focus grades of 62.9 in pass-blocking and 65.8 in run-blocking.

"That's why we coveted T.J. Bass, and having T.J. Bass back," Schottenheimer said. "I think he's played a lot of really good football for us and we expect he'll continue to do so."

The Cowboys' decision to place a second-round tender on Bass has now catapulted to near the top of the list of the most important moves Dallas made this offseason.

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