Cowboys O-Line Takes a Massive Hit as Tyler Smith Heads to IR

The Dallas Cowboys just lost one of the few reliable things about their offense. According to Adam Schefter, Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith is officially heading to injured reserve, meaning he is sidelined for a minimum of four games.

Losing a Pro Bowl offensive lineman is never good, but losing one when you are already trying to keep your quarterback upright is a disaster. The Cowboys are now scrambling to patch a massive hole on the left side of their line.

"Adam Schefter reported the roster moves on Wednesday."

To stop the bleeding, Dallas promoted Nick Leverett from the practice squad to the active roster. They also signed veteran Laken Tomlinson, a former 2015 first-round pick by the Detroit Lions, to the practice squad.

Relying on a practice squad elevation and a guy who was drafted a decade ago to fix your offensive line is the football equivalent of putting duct tape on a leaky pipe. It might hold for a minute, but you are definitely going to need a mop.

This is the kind of injury that quietly ruins game plans. If you are looking at Cowboys offensive props over the next month, you have to factor in the reality that their interior blocking just took a massive step backward. Running lanes shrink, and the pocket collapses a half-second faster.

Dallas has to survive the next month without their anchor. We will see if Leverett or Tomlinson can actually hold the line, or if opposing defensive tackles are about to have a field day against the Cowboys' patchwork front.