The Dallas Cowboys announced that rookie guard Tyler Smith has suffered an ankle injury. This team doesn’t consider it serious. On Tuesday, the details of Smith’s injury were revealed. The severity of the injury was not considered serious for the Dallas draft pick. Smith was selected by the Cowboys as the 24th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. They hope to add a talented Tulsa tackle to their offensive line. Smith is now primarily a left-guard for the team, having received reps at tackle throughout camp.
While details about the injury are not available at this time, initial reports on his condition indicated that it was not something that would affect his ability to work or cause him to miss any time.
“Tyler Smith has a ankle injury. It’s not serious,” said The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
Even though they are not “serious”, any preseason injury can be a difficult blow. Teams use their limited practice and game experience to get players up to speed across the entire team. Smith is a rookie with high expectations. Any concerns about Smith’s health could hinder his progress as he adjusts the NFL.
Smith already impressed his coach and Dallas organization. Mike McCarthy gave him an incredibly high recommendation earlier in the month.
“His physical nature, Tyler Smith, is everything we thought it was,” began McCarthy. “He’s having a good camp for a young guy, but I mean I look at Tyler — I look at all our young players particularly, the defensive end, the offensive front, this is what they need. The footwork. The pad level. The fits and so forth. Playing full speed, and the recognition of what the defense is trying to do. So he’s definitely had a couple of looks that he hasn’t had yet, as far as particularly as Micah [Parsons] blitzing in the a-gap and things like that.
“So doing a lot of good things, but he needs to work, just like we all do.”
Smith was not an extremely sought-after prospect when he graduated high school in 2019, but he quickly became a crucial part of the Tulsa offense line. Smith’s final season as Tulsa’s starting left tackle saw him help the offense rank 39th in pass defense in the FBS, with a mere 5.4 percent allowed sack rate.