FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys signed veteran guard Laken Tomlinson to the practice squad, and coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that Tomlinson will not take much of Wednesday’s practice.
“I mean, you know, you watch the guys play a ton of football. I think it’s 112 starts or something like that. I’ve been a fan of his,” Schottenheimer said. “But he understands the game of football. For a guy his age, he can still bend. He’s got tremendous length. But you see the pop in his lower body. And, again, this is something that when you’re trying to add people to the practice squad, certainly the veterans, you’d like to find guys that when things happen you can play, you know, and you can insert them. And so he’ll be in a ramp-up period. He won’t be doing much of practice today. We’ve got to get him ready to go, and we’ll do that.”
Tomlinson has played 173 games with 162 starts across 11 seasons. He turned 34 in February.
Laken Tomlinson From Duke To Five Seasons In San Francisco
Tomlinson was born in Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica, and moved to Chicago at 11. He played high school football at Lane Tech and started 52 games over five seasons at Duke, where he was a consensus All-American and a first-team All-ACC selection in 2014.
Detroit took him 28th overall in 2015, the first Duke player selected in the first round since Mike Junkin in 1987. He started 24 games across two seasons with the Lions and lost the job in his second year.
On Aug. 31, 2017, Detroit traded him to San Francisco for a 2019 fifth-round pick. Tomlinson missed the season opener that year and then started the next 15 games at left guard. The 49ers declined his fifth-year option in May 2018 and re-signed him the following month. Over five seasons there, he started 80 of 81 games and made the Pro Bowl in 2021. He has started all seven of his career postseason games, including Super Bowl LIV.
The Jets signed him in March 2022 on a three-year deal worth $40 million. Tomlinson started all 17 games in each of the next two seasons and was released in 2024. Seattle signed him that April, and he started every game again. From his first season in San Francisco through 2024, Tomlinson started all 131 games he appeared in, a run that included 114 consecutive starts dating to Week 2 of 2017.
Laken Tomlinson’s 2025 Season And Why Dallas Needed Him
Houston signed Tomlinson in March 2025 on a one-year contract worth $4.25 million. He opened as the starting left guard and started seven of the team’s first eight games before losing the job. He was a healthy scratch twice, and the Texans waived him on Dec. 2. Baltimore signed him to the practice squad a week later and released him on Jan. 12. He played 10 games last season, the first time in his career he appeared in fewer than 15.
Tyler Smith had thumb surgery Tuesday and went on injured reserve, which sidelines him for at least the first four games. T.J. Bass takes over at left guard. Dallas promoted Nick Leverett from the practice squad to the 53-man roster this week.
The signing puts the Dallas practice squad back at 17 players, the limit for clubs carrying an international player exemption. Dallas opens Sunday at the New York Giants. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
