Jerry Jones updates Tyron Smith's status for Week 17 vs Lions

After missing his fourth game of the year, Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith is questionable to start in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Team owner Jerry Jones provided a status update on Tuesday during his appearance on 105.3 The Fan, which suggested the veteran offensive lineman is trying to make himself available after receiving treatment for his back injury.

“We injected him last week,” Jones shared. “That usually works so hopefully we could have him. He’s a huge difference maker.”

With Smith unavailable against the Dolphins, the Cowboys offensive line gave up four sacks on quarterback Dak Prescott, though they lost just a combined 11 yards. It was the fourth game of the year in which the offensive line allowed four or more sacks. They’ve won two games and lost two games when giving up four or more sacks this season.

Smith, now in his 12th season, missed two games (Weeks 3 and 4) with a minor knee injury, then another (Week 8) with a neck stinger. The veteran has been practicing on a “Hall of Fame” schedule, as head coach Mike McCarthy calls it. He practices very little during the week in order to be fresh for gamedays.

The Cowboys’ injury report this week could reveal more on Smith’s status for the Lions game on Saturday, however, due to his “Hall of Fame” schedule he could sit out practice and still play. The final list of inactives will come out with an hour and a half to go before kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Smith loses money in playing time incentives

The Cowboys worked out a contract restructure this offseason for Smith that gave the 12th-year veteran more security. Unfortunately, after missing out on his fourth game of the season, he lost out on major incentives from his new deal.

According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Smith agreed to a $3 million signing bonus and a $3 million base salary that the team fully guaranteed. Due to the missed games, he is losing out on $4 million of the $9 million playing time incentives in his deal. He also has $2 million additionally as a playoff incentive.

The contract restructuring cleared $9.6 million in cap space for Dallas in 2023. He agreed to a very team-friendly deal with incentives for playing time. Originally, the former All-Pro left tackle had a $17.6 million cap hit coming for the 2023 season for his $13.6 million salary.

The former first-round draft pick out of USC signed an eight-year contract extension worth $97.6 million in 2015. He will be an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2024 season.