OXNARD, Calif. — For the second year in a row, injury news has become a headline at training camp as the Dallas Cowboys attempt to build toward a pivotal season. One year ago, it was defensive end Sam Williams suffering a torn ACL early in camp and, this time around, it’s Tyler Guyton and the offensive line feeling the brunt.
Guyton went down on a rep in the second padded practice after his leg was rolled up on, and there was at least some optimism in seeing him eventually walk off of the field under his own power.
Though reports surfaced that he may have suffered a torn ACL, the worst-case scenario was avoided and Guyton, per his MRI results, is instead dealing with a bone fracture (also commonly referred to as a bone bruise) in his knee that could cause him to miss 4-6 weeks — his ACL being intact.
The timing of the injury is fortuitous as it would allow Guyton to potentially be ready to take the field on Sept. 4 in the Week 1 clash with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and a defensive front that takes no prisoners, barring a setback, with higher odds of being in play for the home opener against the Giants, should the Cowboys exercise an abundance of caution.
So who’s the next man up, and especially considering the team also lost fellow offensive lineman Rob Jones for upwards of three months with a broken bone in his neck, and only one day prior to Guyton’s injury?
This doesn’t feel like something that would force the team into the free agency waters and thankfully so, considering that’s slim pickings, if that.
Tyron Smith is officially retired and the future Hall of Famer plans to stay that way. David Bakhtiari, Charles Leno and Donovan Smith all combined for exactly zero snaps in 2024, with Bakhtiari and Leno also having recent bouts with some sort of major injury that led to the release from their respective teams during or following the 2023 season.
La’el Collins is available, but his second stint with the Cowboys was forgettable due to his inability to climb his way up from the practice squad. All told, he hasn’t played a single active game snap in the NFL since 2022.
That means the next month and a half will see the Cowboys look internally for the solution to Guyton’s absence.
It would appear the line begins behind Hakeem Adeniji, a native of Garland, Texas who entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020. His experience includes active playing time with the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns as well, and he’s shown very real flashes throughout the start of Cowboys’ training camp.
The lesser experienced talent will push for reps, however, namely Asim Richards and Ajani Cornelius. The former is a fifth-round pick (2023) that Dallas is hoping to see take strides forward in his third season, and who is locked in a battle of the backups with not only Adeniji, but also rookie sixth-round pick Ajani Cornelius who, in the second padded practice, was seen mauling a linebacker to the ground on a run play; and with former seventh-round pick (2024) Nate Thomas, though he’s been seeing reps at guard as well.
The coaching staff is also giving a look at Matt Waletzko, and though it’s Adeniji who has more NFL stripes on the wall, as far as playing time goes, it’s Waletzko who is the elder statesman of this group of names in Dallas. Waletzko battled shoulder issues to begin his career, but will look at this next several weeks as an opportunity to, at worst, prove he’s deserving of an active roster spot.
All in all, the news of Guyton’s prognosis gives the Cowboys a sigh of relief as it relates to avoiding the search for a longterm solution and, as such, not having to entertain moving All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith to left tackle in a move that matches the one they pulled during his rookie season.
For now, the newcomers and young incumbents will battle it out over the remainder of training camp and throughout the preseason so that in the event they’re needed down the road, the Cowboys will know who they can depend on.
