FRISCO, Texas — Tyler Smith will have surgery on his thumb Tuesday morning and is likely headed to injured reserve with a designation to return, Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday. Schottenheimer put the recovery at four to six weeks.
“Tyler Smith is going to have surgery on his thumb tomorrow morning, something that he’s just been dealing with, and he’ll probably go on IR/DTR, four to six weeks,” Schottenheimer said. “Just at the end of the day felt like he couldn’t do the things that he had to do at a high level. We know this is a long season, and so it’s unfortunate, but that’s why we coveted T.J. Bass and having T.J. Bass back. And I think he’s played a lot of really good football for us, and we expect he’ll continue to do so.”
Smith hurt the left thumb, according to Schottenheimer. Smith was not on the field during the media’s viewing period of practice earlier Monday, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
A player placed on injured reserve after the cutdown to 53 must miss at least four games before he is eligible to practice or return to the active roster. Four games takes Smith through the opener at the New York Giants on Sept. 13, the home opener against the Washington Commanders on Sept. 20, the meeting with the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 27, and the trip to the Houston Texans on Oct. 4. His first eligible game is Thursday, Oct. 8, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium, four weeks and two days after the surgery. Teams may return eight players from injured reserve in a season, and a player may be designated for return twice.
Brian Schottenheimer On When Tyler Smith’s Thumb Injury Happened
There was no moment in training camp Schottenheimer could point to. Asked whether the thumb had bothered Smith through camp, he said it built up over time.
“He’s such a tough guy,” Schottenheimer explained. “I can’t say enough about Tyler. Just the toughness. But at the end of the day, we can’t pinpoint when it happened. It’s just one of those deals that at the end of the day made the decision that we all did, that hey, the best thing’s to get in front of this thing, and it’s a long season, so let’s go get it fixed.”
Smith has 63 starts in 63 career games. He started 16 games last season while carrying a knee injury on the Cowboys’ injury report, and he had minor cleanup surgery on his right knee in February.
Smith is a quick healer, in Schottenheimer’s description, and he expects him back before too long.
“You always see if you can kind of play through these things,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s done things like that, like a lot of guys have. They’ve all played through them. And unfortunately, when you’re an offensive lineman, grip strength and things like that are really important. And we know he’s a quick healer, and we want to get it fixed, and he’ll be back before too long.”
Brian Schottenheimer On T.J. Bass Stepping In At Left Guard
Dallas has opened games with four new starters on the offensive line, Schottenheimer said, and he is confident in this group against the Giants front.
“A ton of confidence,” Schottenheimer said. “Tyler Smith’s a great player, but we feel really confident in TJ, and he’s put great film on here. He’s played next to Cooper Beebe. He’s played next to Guyton, so that’s nothing new, the communication and all this stuff. But at the end of the day, we tendered him the way we tendered him because we trust this guy as a football player. And he’s a damn good football player that unfortunately is just playing behind a lot of really, really good players. And so we have great confidence in TJ.”
T.J. Bass signed a second-round restricted free agent tender on March 17 worth $5.76 million for one season. He arrived undrafted out of Oregon in 2023 and has 10 starts in 48 career games. He played 352 offensive snaps last season and was charged with 4 pressures, no sacks, no quarterback hits, and no penalties, per Pro Football Focus, which graded him 30th among 81 qualified guards. Dallas placed Bass on injured reserve on Jan. 3 and activated him on Feb. 15.
Ajani Cornelius did not practice Monday because of a knee injury. Cornelius won a reserve interior spot in camp over Nick Leverett and Trevor Keegan. Schottenheimer said the staff will sort out the makeup of the eight offensive linemen Dallas carries this week, and that Terence Steele is the starting right tackle with Broderick Jones still learning the system.
Smith was the 24th overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Tulsa. He started all 17 games as a rookie, 16 at left tackle and 1 at left guard, and was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team. He moved inside in 2023 and was voted second-team All-Pro that season. He has been to three straight Pro Bowls. The last three starts of his 2025 season came at left tackle, after Tyler Guyton went on injured reserve in December.
Smith signed a four-year, $96 million extension in September 2025 that included $81.2 million guaranteed and made him the highest-paid guard in the league at $24 million per season. The deal runs through 2030. Dallas restructured it in March as part of a series of moves that cleared roughly $19 million in cap space before Week 1.
Dallas practiced Monday and is off Tuesday. Schottenheimer said the team returns Wednesday to install the first- and second-down plan. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is set for 7:20 p.m. CT Sunday on NBC.
