Tyron Smith should be exempt from all Dallas Cowboys practices

There aren’t many who will dispute the claim, Tyron Smith is one of the best left tackles in the game. There also aren’t many who will deny Smith has a problem staying healthy.

These antiparallel forces are dividing Cowboys Nation regarding how they feel about their future Hall of Fame left tackle. Should Dallas continue on with him until he can’t anymore, or should they cut bait and develop someone more reliable?

To preserve Tyron Smith as much as possible, the Dallas Cowboys should exempt their LT from all practices going forward.

At 31-years-old, Tyron Smith isn’t getting any younger. The wear and tear on his body have prevented him from playing a full season since the Obama administration. And over the past two seasons, he’s missed more games than he’s played.

practice is a pretty pointless appointment in Tyron’s weekly calendar.

As we stated before, when he plays, he’s brilliant. He put up a stinker against the 49ers last season but that seems to be the exception to the rule and more health related than a sign of decline. When healthy, Tyron is still the man.

So how do we keep Tyron as healthy as possible?

Put him on ice all week.

Tyron Smith isn’t getting any better as a player. Father Time tells us he’s on the downslope of his career – even if he stays healthy. This is fine because he’s among the best LT in the NFL. The Cowboys don’t need to develop him further, they just need him to be available. That’s why practice is a pretty pointless appointment in his weekly calendar.

By preserving Tyron all week and focusing on body maintenance like physical therapy, flexibility and weight training, Tyron can keep additional wear and tear off, while maximizing his health for games. It takes away the risk that comes with practice and just offers the reward of what he offers in games.

As Steven Johnston pointed out, the Dallas Cowboys have a lot of eggs in Tyron’s basket this season. The season is doomed if Tyron misses extended time because the options behind him are suboptimal and the trickledown effect of adjusting the line looks disastrous. Tyron Smith could very well be the key to this entire offense.

Downside?

The Dallas Cowboys are working rookie Tyler Smith into a new position at left guard. Getting reps next to Tyron is key to his development as a LG and the O-line as a whole. By Tyron skipping practices, Tyler only gains this growth in real life game situations. This will impact how the line handles games/stunts and blitz pick ups in some regard.

What I’m proposing comes at a cost.

But even with that obvious downside, keeping Tyron Smith healthy should be the top objective. He’s too vital for this team to risk in pointless practices, and by sitting out he’ll be giving reps to the uber-raw prospects behind him (Josh Ball and Matt Waletzko) and speeding up their development.

That’s why I make the case the Dallas Cowboys should cancel all of Tyron Smith’s practices going forward. He doesn’t need them. He needs to stay heathy because the whole season rides on his health.