Cowboys activate All-Pro T Tyron Smith

The Dallas Cowboys moved eight-time Pro Bowl tackle Tyron Smith to the active roster on Saturday, making him available for the team's game with the Jaguars in Jacksonville Sunday. Smith, 32, had missed every game this season after sustaining an avulsion fracture of his left knee (a hamstring tendon injury) that required surgery in August. He was designated to return from injured reserve on Dec. 7. Primarily a left tackle throughout his career, the two-time All-Pro could slide to the other side on Sunday, as right tackle Terence Steele was recently shelved with an ACL injury. Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones acknowledged as much on a local radio station (105.3, The Fan) this week, saying Smith, who played right tackle as a rookie in 2011, has the ability to do so again. "Absolutely he does. Yes, sir. It's like riding a bicycle," Jones said. Smith has started all 144 games he has played in since joining Dallas as the No. 9 overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. He missed just one game during his first five seasons in the league, then an average of three games a year over his next four seasons. Neck surgery caused him to miss all but two games in 2020 and then a variety of ailments (COVID, ankle) limited him to 11 games in 2021. --Field Level Media