The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been the luckiest team when it comes to injuries so far in 2020. To be fair, given what happened on Sunday around the league, they haven’t been the unluckiest either. Still, their once dominant offensive line that was already down tackle La’el Collins was without All-Pro Tyron Smith against the Atlanta Falcons.

Though things can change rapidly as the week wears on, the news coming out of Dallas regarding Smith’s health isn’t very encouraging. The Cowboys COO Stephen Jones now says that Smith “has an opportunity to play this week” against the Seattle Seahawks.

There’s been rumblings that this could be a longer term injury than the team has let on to the public, and their transactions are giving breath to those rumors. It began last week when they added tackles Eric Smith and Alex Light to the active roster and it didn’t help that they met with tackle Jared Veldheer and former guard Ron Leary.

The Cowboys reportedly offered Veldheer a contract, but the veteran decided to announce his retirement.

It’s clear from their intent that they are preparing for a worst-case scenario, and given the injury history of their left tackle, it’s best to have a backup plan. For at least one game, Brandon Knight performed admirably in his stead, though the tests will get tougher for the second-year undrafted free agent.

Smith has missed exactly three games a season four years running, a streak that if broken, might be in the exact opposite way that most are hoping. This is also the earliest he’s missed a game in his career, though only beating 2016’s Week 3 absence by a week.

—COWBOYS WIRE