Tyler Smith Is Back for Thursday Night — Cowboys Activate Their All-Pro Guard Hours Before the Bucs Game

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Cowboys are getting their best offensive lineman back on the biggest stage of the week. Dallas will activate three-time Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith from injured reserve prior to Thursday night's game against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday, setting up Smith's season debut under the lights at AT&T Stadium.

"The #Cowboys are activating All-Pro G Tyler Smith from Injured Reserve to play tonight against the #Bucs," Rapoport wrote on X. "A big lift. One of the NFL's best, Smith had thumb surgery right before the season, with hopes of returning as soon as possible. After a full practice Wednesday, he's back."

The timeline tells you how fast this moved. Smith underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his thumb during training camp — a torn ulnar collateral ligament suffered during a joint practice against the Saints, per Sports Now — and opened the season on returnable injured reserve. The Cowboys (2-2) opened his 21-day practice window Monday. He ramped up his practice effort each day this week, per Cowboys Wire, was listed as questionable on Wednesday's report, and went through a full practice Wednesday. A few hours before Thursday Night Football, the worst-kept secret of Week 5 became official.

Let's talk about what Dallas is actually getting back, because this isn't just a body. Smith, 25, has started 63 regular-season games since the Cowboys drafted him No. 24 overall in 2022, per Reuters. He was a Second Team All-Pro in 2023, has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons, and signed a four-year, $96 million extension last year, per The Score. T.J. Bass did an admirable job filling in at left guard, per Cowboys on SI — but Smith is the best player on this line, and it's not particularly close.

The matchup timing is almost unfair. Smith returns against a Tampa Bay defense that's missing safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (rib, out weeks) and starting a defensive front that will now have to go through a fresh All-Pro to reach Dak Prescott. The Bucs do get one piece back: Rueben Bain Jr. returns after missing two games with a groin injury, per Cowboys on SI. But Bain, Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey trying to collapse the pocket now runs straight into Smith — who will be wearing a cast on the repaired thumb, per Sports Now, but has been cleared for competitive action.

And here's the part that matters for anyone with money on this game: Dallas has been scoring without him. The Cowboys are averaging 30.5 points per game — tied for second in the NFL, per Sports Now — through four weeks without their best lineman. Sunday's 34-30 comeback win at Houston was the offense's best game of the season. The one thing that hasn't worked? The run game: 3.8 yards per carry, per Sports Now. If there's a version of this offense that finally breaks through on the ground, it's the one with Tyler Smith pulling in front of Javonte Williams.

The roster math is worth a note, because it tells you how Dallas views its backfield. To make room for Smith on the 53-man roster, the club waived running back Emari Demarcado, per Cowboys Wire. Demarcado, 27, had five carries for 15 yards in two games this season after being claimed off waivers from Kansas City on Sept. 1. He'd been inactive the last two games behind Tyler Goodson — signed off the Falcons' practice squad — as Javonte Williams' backup. The writing, as Cowboys Wire put it, was on the wall. Dallas also elevated defensive backs Reddy Steward and Juanyeh Thomas from the practice squad for tonight, and will announce seven inactives about 90 minutes before the 7:15 p.m. CT kickoff.

One more thing to watch: the snap count question. Cowboys on SI notes it's worth watching whether Smith plays the entire game or is on a snap count in his return. A guard coming off thumb surgery in his first live action since camp, on a short week — Dallas has every reason to manage him. But Rapoport's report frames this as a full return, and the Cowboys didn't wait until Sunday to do it. They want him tonight.

The other side of this game, for context from our Thursday Night Football preview: the Buccaneers are 0-4 for the first time since 2013, Baker Mayfield is out again with a dislocated thumb, and undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels makes his second straight start. Our injury fallout story has the full damage report on both sides. Tonight was already a mismatch on paper. Dallas just added its best lineman to the pile.