Tyron Smith signed the ceremonial contract allowing the standout left tackle to retire with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, and prompting beaming owner Jerry Jones to declare, “Officially a Cowboy.”
Jones wasn’t smiling a year ago when the Cowboys made the business decision to move on from the longtime anchor of their offensive line because of injuries, which led to Smith signing with the New York Jets.
“It was like losing a family member when he went to the Jets, really was,” Jones said. “And I couldn’t talk to him, I couldn’t have a small talk. I had a tough time talking, picking up that phone when he left us. And so it was with great pleasure that I put that old Jones on this contract today that will be the last one he signs in the NFL.”
Those 13 seasons with the Cowboys easily won out, particularly since it’s been less than two months since six-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, Smith’s teammate for 10 years, retired after spending all 11 of his seasons in Dallas.
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“The moment I stepped into Dallas,” Smith said at a retirement ceremony attended by the 34-year-old’s family and plenty of former teammates and coaches, “I knew this was home.”
Smith made eight Pro Bowls in a nine-season span that included both of his All-Pro nods. But the injuries piled up, and he didn’t play a complete season over his final nine years after missing just one game through his first five seasons.
“After this past year and over the years of injuries and things like that, it just kind of felt like it was the right time to hang it up,” Smith said. “I don’t want to be that guy down the line where I’m struggling, and I want to be healthy for my kids.”
At his best, Smith was perhaps the most dominant lineman in the storied franchise’s history — a massive, 6-foot-5, 320-pound frame that seemed to come out of a cartoon book. He wore knee braces on his elbows and still had the athletic ability to keep nearly every pass rusher off the blind side of quarterbacks Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.
Smith was the first of three offensive linemen drafted in the first round by Dallas in a four-year span as the No. 9 overall pick in 2011. Center Travis Frederick was a late first-rounder in 2013, followed by Martin a year later. Frederick retired following the 2019 season.
Smith played right tackle when he debuted as a 20-year-old rookie out of Southern California, making the switch to the higher-profile left side a year later.
The selection of Smith triggered a rebuilding of the Dallas offensive line, which was among the NFL’s best within a few years.
“You can’t beat the group that we had,” said Smith, who made 161 starts with the Cowboys before making 10 with the Jets. “We felt like we were on top of the world and unstoppable, and it’s no better feeling than that.”
Dallas had seven winning seasons and six playoff appearances during Smith’s tenure, but couldn’t get past the divisional round. The Cowboys have gone 29 seasons without reaching an NFC championship game since winning the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title.
“It is a tragedy that we didn’t get a Super Bowl with you sitting out there at that left tackle,” Jones said. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact of what you’ve accomplished in the NFL. And I want to be the first one to shake your hand when you go into that (Pro Football) Hall of Fame.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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