Mike McCarthy: Cowboys will give Tyler Smith opportunity to get cleared before Sunday

The Dallas Cowboys could be kicking off the regular season against the New York Giants on Sunday night without starting left guard Tyler Smith. After an MRI confirmed the 2022 first-round draft pick out of Tulsa suffered a hamstring strain, the lineman is now day-to-day.

On Thursday, Mike McCarthy told reporters that the team plans to give Smith “every opportunity” to show he’s fit to play in the season opener in New York.

“If he practices Saturday, we’ll give him a chance to go,” McCarthy said. “But he has to practice. So we’ll give him every opportunity to do that.”

Asked whether the 50% chance of rain on Sunday night will impact the team’s decision on Smith, McCarthy said no.

“To me, there’s a threshold that you cross to play in the game,” McCarthy said. “The weather doesn’t factor in unless it’s a severe situation.”

Smith has been doing rehab work with Cowboys’ trainer Britt Brown since suffering the minor injury on Monday.

“He says he feels really good,” McCarthy added. “He’s very optimistic.”

If the second-year lineman is good to go for Sunday, the Cowboys would have Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin and Terence Steele as the starting five. If the former first-rounder can’t play, then Dallas will likely insert T.J. Bass or rookie Asim Richards. They’ll also likely move another lineman from the practice squad to the active roster for gameday.

Last season as a rookie, Smith played primarily left tackle last season while filling in for Tyron Smith after the All-Pro sustained an injury during training camp. He played all 17 games across left tackle and left guard, surrendering six sacks in 1,144 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus analytics.

CB Jourdan Lewis ‘close’ for Cowboys

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy also shared Thursday that cornerback Jourdan Lewis is “close” to making his return this week.

Moving him off the physically-unable-to-perform list for the 53-man roster cut, the Cowboys are prepared to play him as soon as he’s ready, which is apparently soon. He was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, per the injury report.

The former Michigan standout suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot to end the 2022 season so started camp on the PUP list.

A former third-round pick out of Michigan, Lewis has started 30 of the 37 games he appeared in over the past three seasons. He posted career highs with three interceptions, 11 passes defended and 61 tackles in 2021 to go along with 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Last season, he had 26 tackles, with one sack, and one interception.