The Cowboys’ best-laid plans on the offensive line have not quite gone as the team hoped. Tackle Terence Steele had a rough year as he came back from ACL surgery, and after he was granted a hefty $82.5 million contract from the team. Tyler Smith was drafted in the first round in 2022 to eventually take the place at left tackle of the Cowboys’ Tyron Smith once the eight-year, $97.6 million contract extension he signed in 2014 cleared. That should be happening now. But Tyler Smith has settled in as a very good left guard and Tyron Smith, despite being 33, is still among the best left tackles in the NFL.

In fact, the elder Smith has been so good that Pro Football Focus says he is the one free agent that the team “can’t afford to lose” here in the 2024 offseason, even with the fact that Smith missed four games with injuries this year.

“Smith is on the back nine of his career and can be expected to miss a game or two in any given season, but he’s been a remarkable value for Dallas going on a decade at this point. The Cowboys shouldn’t let him take a snap in another uniform if he wants to keep playing,” PFF wrote this week.

“Smith’s 847 snaps played in 2023 were his most since 2019, and his 3.6% pressure rate allowed was third-lowest among tackles across the league.”

Cowboys Tyron Smith Kept Producing at Age 33
Indeed, the team got exceptional production from Smith again this season, his 13th in the NFL. He was not selected for the Pro Bowl this season, but very well might have had he not missed nearly a quarter of the season. Smith finished the year with a grade at Pro Football Focus of 83.7, which is fourth in the NFL among all tackles.

PFF ranks Smith as the top free-agent tackle, and the 14th-ranked free agent overall. He is projected to get a contract worth about $10 million for one year.

Speaking about Tyron Smith’s season last week, coach Mike McCarthy indicated that he could be back and is hopeful he will be able to maintain his healthy. “I think the biggest thing for Tyron is, you know, we talked about the path of his season and the training plan that was in place for him,” McCarthy told reporters. “This is clearly his best season that I’ve experienced with him since 2020. So, he felt really good about that.”

Retirement Question Looms: Dallas or Done?
One problem that Smith could have on the market is the belief that he does not want to play anywhere but Dallas, which gives the Cowboys a distinct advantage in negotiating with him.

Talk of that belief came about last year when the Cowboys were in a cap crunch and were considering cutting Smith. Eventually, the team restructured the final year of his deal.

As former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus explained last February on the “Love of the Star” podcast, “I tell you what, there’s a side of me that believes and this is because it’s been reported to me, that if they were to trade or to cut Tyron Smith, he would be done. He would just retire. If they were to trade him or cut him, he would just quit. … I think that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”