FRISCO, Texas -- When the Dallas Cowboys run out on to the field at Highmark Stadium on Sunday to play the Buffalo Bills, Tyron Smith will lead the way with a full sprint to the sideline.
"It's been a thing over the past few years," the 13-year left tackle said. "It started with me and [Doug Free] running the team. Doug was an older guy, leading the team out, and [I] kind of just took over for him after he left, being the first guy out."
Smith, who turned 33 on Tuesday, still looks a lot like the 20-year-old the Cowboys drafted in the first round out of USC in 2011. There are some exceptions made for age and 158 career games: He wears a knee brace on his right arm. Yes, a knee brace, because his arms are too big for a normal elbow brace. His fingers are a little more crooked and gnarly looking. But mostly everything else is the same.
There is another exception.
The Cowboys have taken a less-is-more approach with Smith. Since aggravating his neck in a Thursday practice, which caused him to miss the Oct. 29 game against the Los Angeles Rams, Smith has not fully practiced.
Almost every week, he has NIR-rest next to his name on the injury report. Not Injury Related.
Entering this season, he played just 17 of a possible 50 regular-season games since Mike McCarthy took over as the Cowboys' head coach in 2020. He opened the season missing three of the first seven games because of knee and neck injuries.
"We all know I hurt myself during practice," Smith said, "so trying to stay as healthy as possible for the team."
On Sunday, Smith will play his 11th game this season, tying for the most he has played since 2020. He will play his seventh straight game, his longest consecutive games streak since nine in a row in 2019.
In 10 games this season, Smith's pass block win rate (87.2%) is better than his average mark for each season (86.8%) since ESPN Analytics started tracking the stat in 2017. Same with his run block win rate (78.4% compared to 76.9%). TruMedia has attributed six sacks to Smith this season, but looking at the video, only two of those sacks were Smith's fault, and one came on a scramble play.
"I wouldn't bet against Tyron ever," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "I think the cool thing is, I feel like we've all found a routine that we feel good about. Obviously, the player knows his body better than anybody, but it is a true luxury to have a guy like that -- that is that elite as an offensive tackle in this league, especially at the quarterback's blind side. What I love about him is his wiring."
By not practicing, Smith has found his form. McCarthy credits who he calls the Cowboys' "bartenders," the support staff who are around the players even more than coaches. In this case, it is director of rehabilitation Britt Brown and strength and conditioning coordinator Harold Nash.
"No one knows Tyron better than Britt and the strength staff," McCarthy said. "You talk about veteran players who have done it for a long time, you have to take all that into account. I think when you get to certain point of your career, each man knows what they need to get ready for a game, that's really defining what that is. I think we have done much better [job making] a clearer picture of what that is. It's worked out very well."
Not practicing doesn't mean Smith isn't working. He takes part in all the walkthroughs and mock games during the week. But when the rest of the team is on the field, Smith is inside Ford Center going through a series of drills specific to the offensive line that Nash said keep his GPS numbers almost as high as if he were practicing.
"Tyron is the last person in the world who is trying to avoid work," Nash said. "That's not what we're doing. We're limiting the exposure to trauma."
Said Smith, "Still getting a lot of work in that I need to for getting ready for the week; not taking any time off. Just getting all the work I would get on the field but taking the contact out of it."
No player is more pleased to have Smith than quarterback Dak Prescott.
"One of the best tackles to play this game," Prescott said. "When he's out there, there's nobody better. He gets his hands on you, it's over with. ... When he's available, you don't have to worry about that side of the ball. Thankful for him. Right now it's about keeping him healthy. It really is. You know he's in that point in his career. He's done that and deserves that."
Left guard Tyler Smith and right tackle Terence Steele simply shake their heads at what he has been able to accomplish despite not taking normal turns during the week.
"The same excellence that's probably been talked about for the majority of his career. It still shines through even today," Tyler Smith said. "I think that [is a] testament to his work ethic, to the level of commitment that he's had at his craft. It definitely is something to marvel at."
Said Steele, "Man, it's impressive. That's Ty. Even at that age, he's still dominant. Looks better than ever. I mean, I'm impressed. I'm glad just to be in the room with the guys and be able to learn from him. It's been really cool to watch."
Neither Tyler Smith nor Steele could imagine asking McCarthy to get on the Tyron Smith plan. In the past two weeks, All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, who also turned 33 this year, has been put on a similar plan. But Tyler Smith is just in his second year and Steele is in his fourth.
"I don't think everybody's going to get that special exception," Tyler Smith said. "But I mean definitely just for him, for the vet guys who have really been through this, who really understand it, it's just taking blows off them as we get deeper into the season so that when we do get to those big games, they're fresh and they're ready for that."
Tyron Smith is fresh and ready. And when the Cowboys leave their locker room Sunday, he will be the first on the field.
"Kind of a nice little warmup," Tyron Smith said. "Just want to hit the field running."