Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys have a few in-house players who can replace Tyler Guyton for now.
The initial “fear” for Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyler Guyton was that he suffered a torn ACL during Tuesday’s practice. However, the football gods heard the resounding hope for it to be less than that, and it looks like the winds have changed.
Todd Archer of ESPN reports the MRI confirmed Guyton’s ACL is intact and it looks to be a bone fracture that is the issue.
While this is the best news possible for a Cowboys team with high expectations heading into the season, Guyton will still miss a significant portion of time, which could extend into Week 1 and beyond.
In the scenario in which Guyton misses game time, Dallas does have depth with players in house to temporarily bandage the situation until their former first-round pick returns to the field. Here are some of the best options.
The Cowboys have struggled to find depth along their offensive line through the draft in the past, with swings on Josh Ball and Matt Waletzko. Given his progress a few seasons into his career, Asim Richards has the potential to be the player who breaks the mold.
The coaching staff knows what they have in Richards and the familiarity with his strengths and weaknesses. He might be the first player they try out in Guyton’s absence, but he may not be the full-time starter depending on how the next few weeks go in camp and the preseason.
Richards has started just one game at left, and it came against the Philadelphia Eagles at home in 2024. During that game, Richards finished with a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 59.7 and allowed four pressures. The third-year offensive lineman looked good coming into offseason workouts, so maybe with a larger workload and a better coaching staff, Richards can turn the corner and become a solid left tackle in an emergency situation.
The front office went out and signed veteran depth along the offensive line during free agency, like Hakeem Adeniji, Robert Jones, and Saahdiq Charles. Adeniji is very similar to the players the Cowboys have signed in the past, like Cameron Fleming, Cameron Irving, and Chuma Edoga. These versatile veteran players have experience playing both guard and tackle spots.
Adeniji has received praise from various media members who have been at practice during training camp and even caught the attention of head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
The former 2020 sixth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals has started 15 games in his career, and the most time he spent at offensive tackle was as a rookie.
It’s been a while since he was in a position to be a starter, but if the Cowboys coaches trust his experience and are not willing to take a risk with someone like Asim Richards, he might be the best option until Guyton returns from his injury.
While the first...
