FRISCO, Texas – Musical chairs has been played along the Cowboys offensive line the last two weeks, but it appears the movement won't last much longer. Tyler Guyton, who was injured against Pittsburgh and did not play against Detroit on Sunday, is the guy at left tackle.
"Yes, he just wasn't ready to go." Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said when asked if Guyton was still the left tackle for the Cowboys. And Jones wasn't the only member of the Cowboys staff to have his rookie left tackle's back either.
"Yeah, absolutely," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said when asked if the best five offensive linemen still involved Guyton at left tackle. "Tyler's a really good talented young player, he just wasn't feeling great."
Support from the staff is great and needed, but Guyton needs to hold up his end of the deal too. One of the best abilities a player can have in the NFL is availability, and Guyton has already missed some crucial time with an illness in training camp and now, nearly two games worth of valuable snaps and experience. It was a message that head coach Mike McCarthy made sure Guyton heard.
"You got to practice every day, you're not going to get to where you want to be because it's all about those five linemen getting out there every single day to get those reps," McCarthy said on Monday. "So when that doesn't happen it can be bumpy, and that's what we're going through."
The bumps in the road have been there for the offensive line and the Cowboys offense as a whole, but with two rookies in Guyton and Cooper Beebe up front that's to be expected. Eventually, the reps and time playing together will add up and pay dividends.
"I think the thing for us is if you get those give guys playing together, I think that's where we feel gives our best chance to have success moving forward." Schottenheimer said.
The outlook for Guyton and the offensive line is all about the future. The best way to get the front five ready to go is continuity in playing together, and the Cowboys understand that. It may take some time and come with growing pains, but once the cohesion is there and the communication up front is executed, you can expect to see improvement. For the time being, all that unit can do make progress together.
"He's doing a nice job progressing and so forth and he's getting better, it's just consistency," offensive line coach Mike Solari said of Guyton. "And he's on it, he knows what he needs to work on and I think we'll see ascending football player. He is going to be a very good football player for us."
Guyton's progress during the bye and the week after will determine his status for the Cowboys' next game in Santa Clara against the San Francisco 49ers, who also have one of the NFL's best pass rushers in Nick Bosa.
