A mighty blow was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys' offense on Monday, but it's not nearly as severe as was initially feared.
Cowboys starting left tackle Tyler Guyton sustained a bone fracture in practice that will not require surgery, and he is expected to miss four to six weeks, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Initially, it was feared Guyton had torn his ACL, but further testing revealed otherwise.
Guyton was a 2024 NFL Draft first-round pick, taken 29th overall. He largely struggled as a rookie, garnering a 49.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
However, a sizeable improvement was expected from Guyton in Year 2 with spring and early training camp reports suggesting the Oklahoma product was well on his way to making that happen. It still might, but he could potentially miss the start of the season based on the timeline for recovery. Dallas kicks off the regular season in roughly five weeks against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Kickoff Game.
Asim Richards could be next in line to fill in, or potentially sixth-round rookie Ajani Cornelius. However, the Cowboys could also reshuffle things. Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith could be moved out, as he started his rookie campaign at left tackle. However, Smith's perceived backup, Robert Jones, told reporters on Monday that he would likely miss multiple months with a broken bone in his neck. Right tackle Terence Steele, who's slated to start next to rookie right guard Tyler Booker, was recently dealing with an ankle injury.
It's a rough start up front for a Cowboys team looking to rebound from a 7-10 2024 season under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer, but Monday ends with a relatively big sigh of relief for Guyton and Dallas.
