Before the 2026 season even starts, the Dallas Cowboys are facing their first challenge. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced on Monday that All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith is set to undergo surgery on his thumb and will be out for 4-6 weeks.
In his place, the Cowboys will go with veteran backup T.J. Bass, who has started in ten games over his career and played the most in a season last year, starting in five games.
Bass is not on the level of Smith, just facts. Very few in the NFL are close to Smith’s level of dominance. However, Bass is the perfect type of player for a situation like this based on his experience in live game situations, and with his knowledge of the offense, having been with Dallas since 2023.
Among all NFL guards last season to play at least 20 percent of the snaps, Bass had a 67.6 grade from Pro Football Focus. That ranked 31st out of 82 guards. His pass blocking and run blocking grades were also middle of the pack.
“I think he’s [Bass] played a lot of really good football for us, and we expect he’ll continue to do so.” Schottenheimer said during his press conference.
Despite average overall stats for his position, the Cowboys could hang their hat on how efficient Bass was in limited reps. He started in games against the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington Commanders.
He allowed zero sacks last year (T-1st among all 82 guards), had four pressures allowed (second best), and a 99.0 pass-blocking efficiency grade (first). A small sample size to be sure, but he acquitted himself very well.
It is an unfortunate scenario to start the season, but among the various different spots on the team an injury like this could occur, having it be one where the Cowboys actually have a quality depth player is the silver lining. Bass allows the Cowboys to continue having full confidence in their offense.
