The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for a healthy 2025 NFL season after their 2024 campaign was derailed by injuries (among other things), including to quarterback Dak Prescott. The Cowboys missed the playoffs in 2024 after putting together multiple straight years of NFC contention prior to that.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys got some unfortunate news on the injury front coming out of Thursday's training camp session.

“Tyler Smith left practice with tendinitis in his knee,” reported Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News on X, formerly Twitter (per SportsDay Cowboys, citing a statement from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones).

Tyler Smith is one of the key members of the Cowboys' offensive line and has made two Pro Bowl appearances thus far in his career. He's certainly not the kind of player the Cowboys can afford to lose as they look to give Dak Prescott as much time as possible to operate in the pocket.

An interesting Cowboys team

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) during training camp at the River Ridge Fields.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Cowboys have the misfortune of playing in one of the NFL's toughest divisions, the NFC East, which features both of last year's NFC Championship Game finalists in the Washington Commanders and the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

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The good news for the Cowboys is that they have added some talent this offseason, including former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, and are also looking forward to what they hope will be a healthy season from Prescott, who is still the highest paid quarterback in the NFL.

One murky situation that the Cowboys' front office is currently attempting to navigate is the contract saga of Micah Parsons. Parsons is in search of a new extension, one that the Cowboys have evidently been reluctant to provide.

Waiting until the last second to extend key franchise cornerstone has become a trend for the Cowboys in recent years, with both CeeDee Lamb and Prescott undergoing similar experiences.

While there's little doubt that Parsons and the Cowboys will eventually come to terms on an agreement, Dallas fans likely would rather avoid the theatrics.

In any case, the Cowboys are set to kick off their 2025 season in prime time against the Eagles on September 4. They'll certainly be hoping that Smith is ready to go by that time, if not much sooner.

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