Dallas Cowboys’ Tyron Smith Future: ‘Bold Surprise’ ESPN Prediction Earns ‘Golden Sombrero’

Dallas Cowboys’ Tyron Smith Future: ‘Bold Surprise’ ESPN Prediction Earns ‘Golden Sombrero’

FRISCO - The latest attempt to report on something in a “bold and surprising” way regarding the Dallas Cowboys guides an “NFL insider” to evaluate the future of Hall of Fame-level tackle Tyron Smith, and in honor of the World Series champion Texas Rangers, we’ll utilize a baseball term to describe it.

ESPN has just struck out four times in one outing and has thus earned “the golden sombrero."

ESPN’s Dan Graziano breathlessly informs us, behind a paywall, that he believes Tyron is nearing his career’s end as the writer labels Smith among his “surprise NFL offseason cut/trade candidates.”

Surprise? Not to any Cowboys fan who has been paying just a little bit of attention. 

The four “strikeouts” that give ESPN its “golden sombrero”? Let’s swing away …

1-Graziano explains to us that the  tackle’s eight-year, $98 million contract expires at the end of this season. … using this as a signal that Tyron could consider retirement after 2023 - which Cowboys Nation also knows. This isn’t “news.”

2- ESPN writes, “He is about to be 33 and has had a tough time staying on the field in recent years.” Noting this is neither “surprising” or “bold.”

Many Cowboys fans can recite by rote the fact that Smith has missed significant time in four straight seasons, including being sidelined 13 games in 2022. … and is struggling to stay healthy this year as well. This isn’t “news.”

3- The “insider” piece politely explains to us that Dallas “drafted Tyler Smith in the first round in 2022 to replace” Tyron.

Yup. You’ve known that since April 2022. … with Tyler largely playing left guard (at a very high level) as he waits for the likely shift. Not “news.”

4- In an ironic twist, ESPN wrote its goodbye note to Tyron on the eve of Dallas’ tight loss at Philadelphia, a game that featured some actual insight regarding Tyron.

Revealed fourth-year Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy: “That’s the Tyron Smith I remember! That’s the best game I’ve seen Tyron play since I’ve been here in my time here in Dallas."

Meaning? ESPN’s door-closing “insight” is at the least ill-timed.

Tyron's $9 Million Sacrifice: Cowboys New Contract Details

What we can tell you about the future from here inside The Star is that the eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron has an unusually close bond with the Jones family, one of the reasons he opted to take a big pay cut to stay here in 2023. 

If he is not back - all along a viable possibility - it will be done in conjunction with the thoughts of the Cowboys front office. But what it will not be?

It will not be “bold.” And it will not be a “surprise.” And ESPN pretending otherwise is nothing but a series of whiffs.