Dallas has spent the past two seasons rebuilding its offensive line around younger talent. The first significant test of that depth has arrived before Week 1.
The Cowboys placed three-time Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith on injured reserve after thumb surgery, guaranteeing that he will miss at least four games. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer had previously put the likely recovery window at four to six weeks.
T.J. Bass is the direct replacement
The important clarification is that Broderick Jones does not simply slide into Smith's left-guard job. Dallas has been clear about its structure: T.J. Bass is expected to start at left guard while Smith is unavailable.
Jones was acquired from Pittsburgh as a tackle. The Cowboys initially described him as a swing-tackle option with the potential to compete for a starting job, and Schottenheimer subsequently confirmed that Jones would compete with Terence Steele at right tackle. Dallas has also said Jones will not be taking left-tackle snaps behind Tyler Guyton.
That leaves the likely line structure with Guyton at left tackle, Bass at left guard, Cooper Beebe at centre, Tyler Booker at right guard and either Steele or Jones at right tackle.
Why Jones still matters to the Smith injury
Even though Jones is not Smith's positional replacement, his arrival matters because injuries compress depth across the entire unit. Dallas can use Bass at guard without simultaneously worrying that one tackle injury leaves the roster without an experienced alternative.
Jones has played both tackle spots in the NFL, including all of his 2025 snaps at left tackle after working mostly on the right side earlier in his career. The Cowboys traded 2027 third- and sixth-round picks to Pittsburgh for Jones and a 2027 fourth-rounder, which is too significant a price for him to be viewed as anonymous emergency depth.
The first four tests are not gentle
Smith's minimum IR absence covers games against the Giants, Commanders, Ravens and Texans. Dallas' own team coverage has highlighted the difficulty of the defensive fronts awaiting the replacement line.
That makes Bass one of the most important non-star players on the roster for September. If he holds up, Dallas can preserve the rest of its preferred line configuration. If the interior becomes a weekly problem, the Cowboys may have to start moving pieces around — exactly what a young line would prefer not to do.
AGN Cowboys view: the Smith injury does not make Broderick Jones the new left guard. It makes the Jones trade more valuable because Dallas now needs every bit of tackle depth it bought while Bass handles the actual vacancy.