DALLAS — Tyler Smith is scheduled for surgery on his left thumb Tuesday and is expected to miss four to six weeks. On the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan that same morning, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Smith aggravated an injury he carried into training camp in California, and that the team agreed the repair had to be permanent.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer announced the surgery Monday. Smith is bound for injured reserve with a designation to return.
Jerry Jones On The Timing Of Tyler Smith’s Surgery
Two weeks ago, when the team came back from Oxnard, California, Dallas still believed Smith could work through the thumb.
“He really exacerbated that injury that he came to California with,” Jones said. “And he basically had an injury more, in my mind, more obvious that we needed to have the internal fixation on it. So we all thought that he could work through it. It probably was something he could work through when we got back here two weeks ago. But he’s probably made that injury to the point we agree it’s fixed long haul.”
Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Dr. Steven Shin would perform the operation. Before Monday, the Cowboys had gotten through all of training camp and the preseason without a significant injury.
Smith went 24th overall to Dallas in the 2022 draft out of Tulsa. He has started all 63 games he has appeared in. Last season he played 1,109 offensive snaps across 16 games, and the one game he missed was a Week 5 win over the New York Jets. Three Pro Bowl selections have followed, in 2023, 2024, and 2025. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2023.
On Sept. 13, 2025, the day before the season opener, Smith signed a four-year, $96 million extension with $81.2 million guaranteed that made him the highest-paid guard in the league. In February he had minor cleanup surgery on his right knee.
T.J. Bass Replaces Tyler Smith In The Dallas Cowboys Lineup
T.J. Bass moves into the starting five. Dallas signed Bass out of Oregon as an undrafted free agent on May 19, 2023, placed him on injured reserve on Jan. 3, 2026, activated him on Feb. 15, and re-signed him on March 17. He has appeared in 48 career games, 16 of them last season.
Jones also connected the Broderick Jones trade to what the Cowboys are doing with Smith along the line.
“Bringing Jones, you upgraded the flexibility that we have,” Jones explained. “In many cases, those guys can be interchangeable. Guards can move to tackle and tackles can move internally.”
Over the five weeks that follow the opener, Dallas plays the Washington Commanders, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys face the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
