Cowboys former first-round pick forced to leave practice due to injury

Injuries have been a prevailing theme for the Dallas Cowboys this offseason.

They’re still without Trevon Diggs, Shavon Revel Jr., and Josh Butler, which has thinned out the secondary. On offense, they’ve had better luck but still lost starting left tackle Tyler Guyton for several weeks.

Now another projected starter had to leave practice on Monday. 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith had to visit the medical tent, then headed to the locker room following the examination from the team’s medical staff.

Smith is entering his third season in the league, and can ill-afford to miss time. He’s been struggling to hold down a starting spot and enters the preseason in danger of losing his job.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 337 pounds, Smith was brought in to be a run-stuffing nose tackle. Through two years, he’s been unable to find his footing, recording 54 tackles and two sacks.

It’s not fair to place all of the blame on Smith, however. He’s been asked to perform different roles under three different defensive coordinators. Dan Quinn had him playing as an attacking 3-tech in 2023 while Mike Zimmer placed him in a more traditional 1-tech role.

Smith performed better under Zimmer, but is asked to do more attacking under new coordinator Matt Eberflus, which has put his struggles front and center once again. Should he miss extensive time with this injury, it could be devastating to his chances of keeping the starting job.