The Dallas Cowboys moved All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith out to left tackle Sunday after consecutive struggling performances from backup left tackle Nate Thomas. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that change will remain in place for the rest of the season.
“He certainly can play out there,” Schottenheimer said. “And when we made the decision, we talked to Tyler Smith, and the decision was made that we’re going to do it for the year. And so, he’ll be the left tackle.”
In 61 career games, Smith, a Fort Worth native who went to North Crowley High School, has started at left tackle 20 times. In his rookie year, 17 of those came after a preseason injury to Tyron Smith forced the younger Smith to play the position he excelled at during his time at Tulsa. Despite only seeing starts at the position in two games in the past three years, he got the start Sunday and will get two more before the end of the year.
This comes after the previous starter, second-year Tyler Guyton, suffered a high ankle sprain that has kept him out of four games. Even before his injury, Guyton had his ups and downs, allowing 31 pressures on quarterback Dak Prescott in 10 games. But even if Guyton makes his way back from injury before the end of the year, Smith will remain in at left tackle.
“I don’t think he’s out for the year,” Schottenheimer said. “I just think he’s making his way back. And again, short weeks don’t help.”
The Cowboys are entering just that ahead of their Christmas game against the Washington Commanders on Thursday. With just four days to prepare for the road trip to the nation’s capital, Guyton will likely miss a fifth consecutive game.
If he returns for the season finale against the New York Giants, he will likely be the team’s swing tackle — meaning he will back up both Smith and right tackle Terence Steele.
“I think Tyler [Guyton] could end up being the swing tackle,” Schottenheimer said. “And again, you ask Smith in a couple days to move to left tackle, he can move to left guard. He’s such a luxury to have.”
This decision comes ahead of an offseason when the Cowboys could move on from Steele, opening up the possibility of Guyton moving back to the position he played while at Oklahoma. Through two seasons as the left tackle, he hasn’t lived up to his first-round billing, but a move could help jump-start his career in year three.
For the Cowboys, there is no longer a financial implication to keeping Smith at left guard. Since elite tackles make more money than elite guards, Smith signing his contract extension before the season started under the guard price makes his flexibility that much more possible in 2026.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
June 22 Rangers 4, Miami 3
June 23 Miami 6, Rangers 4
June 24 Miami 4, Rangers 2
June 25 Rangers 6, Toronto 5
June 26 Rangers 5, Toronto 4
June 27 Rangers 7, Toronto 4
June 28 Rangers 3, Toronto 2
June 29 at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m., ESPN
June 30 at Cleveland, 5:40 p.m., RSN
July 1 at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m., RSN
July 2 vs. Detroit, 7:05 p.m., RSN
July 4 vs. Detroit, 3:05 p.m., RSN
July 5 vs. Detroit, 2:30 p.m., NBCSN, Peacock
Wings▶
June 17 Golden State 91, Wings 80
June 20 Wings 93, Chicago 92
June 22 Wings 112, Seattle 110 (OT)
June 25 Las Vegas 99, Wings 84
June 28 Minnesota 85, Wings 77
July 2 at Connecticut, 7 p.m., KFAA, Amazon Prime Video
July 5 at Toronto, 2 p.m., KFAA
July 7 at New York, 7 p.m., ESPN
July 10 vs. Toronto (at Montreal), 6:30 p.m., Ion
July 12 vs. Chicago (at American Airlines Center), 6 p.m., ESPN, Disney+
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox
Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA
World Cup ▶
All local matches at AT&T Stadium
Group stage
June 14 Japan 2, Netherlands 2 (Group F)
June 17 England 4, Croatia 2 (Group L)
June 22 Argentina 2, Austria 0 (Group J)
June 25 Japan 1, Sweden 1 (Group F)
June 27 Argentina 3, Jordan 1 (Group J)
Knockout round
June 30 Norway 2, Ivory Coast 1 (round of 32)
July 3 Round of 32: Australia vs. Egypt, 1 p.m., Fox
July 6 Round of 16: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox
July 14 Semifinal: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox
FC Dallas ▶
May 2 FC Dallas 2, NY Red Bulls 0
May 9 FC Dallas 3, Salt Lake 1
May 13 Vancouver 3, FC Dallas 2
May 16 FC Dallas 3, San Jose 2
May 23 FC Dallas 2, Colorado 1
World Cup break
July 22 at Portland, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV
July 25 at San Diego, 8:30 p.m., FS1, Apple TV
Texas Motor Speedway ▶
July 11 NASCAR Racing Experience
July 11 Hearts in High Gear
July 25 Drift n Drag
Aug. 1 NASCAR Racing Experience
Aug. 29 Team Texas: David Starr's Racing School
Sept. 5 NASCAR Racing Experience
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 5:47 PM.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
