Stephen Jones: Tyron Smith is “about 3-4 weeks away” from starting his 21-day practice window

Halfway through the season one of the surprises on the Dallas Cowboys is the play of their offensive line.

Halfway through the season one of the strengths on the Dallas Cowboys is the play of their offensive line.

The fact that both of these statements are true is part of why this season is so fun and interesting.

Any success for the Cowboys group up front felt impossible when left tackle Tyron Smith was injured weeks before the regular season began. Dallas partly prepared for a Tyron absence by drafting Tyler Smith in the first round this year, but by giving him exclusively left guard snaps throughout training camp and the preseason they also partly did not.

Thankfully Smith has been extremely solid at left tackle which is impressive in general, but more so given that he is a rookie in the NFL. The Cowboys have maintained a level of optimism from the moment Tyron was injured that he could return this season and it seems that maybe their wildest hope could come to fruition.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Stephen Jones noted that the team is “about 3-4 weeks away” from opening Tyron Smith’s 21-day practice window.

Some simple math here tells us that Tyron’s return then is potentially 6-7 weeks away. Given that we are currently in Week 9 of the season, Dallas is on bye this week, that means that Tyron could potentially return for the end of the regular season.

This is all still a very optimistic look at things and to be as responsible as possible the Cowboys shouldn’t plan on Tyron returning. If he does, then obviously that is a great problem to have and something for them to figure out as far as when and where to play him, but again that is potentially two months away.

Rest up, Tyron. Get right. This season may wind up needing you.