FRISCO, Texas – Following the recent retirement of Zack Martin, another offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys has decided to end his career in American football. Tyron Smith, an eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle, announced his retirement.
Smith will sign a symbolic contract with the Cowboys on Wednesday to retire with the team that drafted him with the 9th pick in the 2011 draft.
Smith played 12 of his 13 seasons with the Cowboys, finishing his career with the New York Jets in 2024. He started in all 171 games of his career and was selected to the Pro Bowl from 2013 to 2019 and in 2021.
It is possible that both Martin and Smith will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when they are first eligible in 2030.
Smith, from day one, established himself as one of the best blindside blockers. He began his career protecting Tony Romo and finished it with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback.
In 2011, Smith became the first offensive lineman selected in the first round by the Cowboys since 1981, when they chose Howard Richards. In the following three years, the Cowboys selected Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick (2013) and Martin (2014) in the first round, forming one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Smith, 34, only missed one game in his first five seasons, but injuries began to affect him.
He missed games due to knee, neck, back, hamstring, and ankle injuries. In 2020, he only played in two games before undergoing neck surgery. He missed 13 games in 2022 due to a hamstring avulsion that required surgery during training camp.
After restructuring his contract, Smith played in 13 games in 2023 with the Cowboys. He joined the Jets on a one-year contract and started 10 games before finishing the year on the injured reserve list with a neck injury.
At his best, Smith was the prototype left tackle, with long arms and athleticism to take on the NFL’s best pass rushers. He began his career as a right tackle before moving to left tackle in 2012 for good.
On four occasions in a five-year span, Smith, Frederick, and Martin were selected together for the Pro Bowl.
Frederick retired after the 2019 season, fulfilling a comeback after missing the previous season while dealing with the effects of Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease that impacts the nervous system.
Martin, at the start of 2024, already knew it would be his last season. An ankle injury limited him to 10 games and required surgery at the end of the season.
Only Smith played for another team, but he has retired as a Cowboy and closes the circle of one of the best offensive line trios the Cowboys have ever had.
