Cowboys turn to veteran Laken Tomlinson as Tyler Smith injury reshapes offensive line

The Dallas Cowboys spent the final days before the regular season reworking their offensive line depth chart, a response to news that starting guard Tyler Smith will land on injured reserve with a thumb injury that will sideline him for at least the opening month of the year.

Dallas made two corresponding moves. Guard Nick Leverett was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, where he is expected to serve as the primary backup behind new starter TJ Bass. The team then signed veteran lineman Laken Tomlinson to the practice squad, adding experience to a position group suddenly short on proven bodies.

Tomlinson, 34, brings a lengthy résumé. A first-round pick in the 2015 draft, he has started 162 games across his career, including seven appearances with the Houston Texans last season. The former Duke standout earned Pro Bowl honors in 2020 during a run that established him as one of the league’s more durable interior linemen.

Leverett’s path to the roster is less conventional. Undrafted in 2020 out of Rice University, he signed with Tampa Bay and spent three seasons there in largely a reserve role, starting 10 of his 16 total appearances. He did not see game action until 2021 and remained with the Buccaneers through 2023. In 2024, he split the year between New England and Arizona, and he finished last season on the Cardinals’ practice squad — where he overlapped with Clayton Adams, now the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator. That existing relationship likely eased his transition to Dallas.

Schottenheimer draws outside recognition

Away from the roster moves, the Cowboys received an unexpected mention in ESPN’s annual poll of NFL scouts and executives, who voted on favorites in eight major award categories. Second-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer appeared as a coach-of-the-year candidate — a notable signal given that Dallas finished 7-10 last season and that the award historically goes to the sideline leader of the league’s most improved playoff team.

Rookie safety Caleb Downs also featured in the poll as a favorite for defensive rookie of the year, meaning the Cowboys accounted for a quarter of the names mentioned in the survey.

The recognition follows what has been described as a smooth offseason in Dallas, though the Smith injury presents the staff with its first significant in-season test of the rebuilt offensive line configuration.

What to watch

• Smith’s recovery timeline and any updates on when he could return from injured reserve.
• How the interior line holds up in the early-season schedule with Bass starting and Leverett backing up.
• Whether Tomlinson is elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster in coming weeks.
• Dallas’s early-season results, which will test the executive optimism reflected in the ESPN poll.

Source: original release