Following a 34-17 Week 16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced that Tyler Smith is closing out the regular season at left tackle, moving away from his usual role at left guard. While the decision made sense from a football standpoint, one that would entail a major leap in terms of responsibilities for Smith, it won’t be without questions around legality of it all at the same time.

“There is no clause in Tyler Smith’s contract with the Cowboys that compensates him if he moves from guard to tackle,” Cowboys’ reporter Clarence Hill Jr. wrote on X. “It’s actually illegal to do so under the CBA, per Smith’s representative. It’s not allowed. Smith is paid at the top of the guard market but to tackle is a different tax bracket. He is well aware of the difference.”

Meaning, the fact that Smith had signed a four-year, $96 million extension with the Dallas Cowboys in September this year, the highest-paid contract for a guard in league history, he did it without knowing the possibility of playing left tackle for them. Ergo, if he is expecting a pay increase for the move, he unfortunately cannot get it. To put things into perspective, the highest-paid left tackle in football makes $4.5 million more per year than Smith. But financial implications aside, moving to a different position, he leaves behind two AP All-Pro team selections and a third consecutive Pro Bowl selection.

Whether or not the move ends up being pursued permanently in the offseason, Tyler Smith wants a say in the end.

The move worked on the field for the Cowboys in Week 16. With the player holding down left tackle and T.J. Bass stepping in at left guard, the Cowboys’ OL allowed just one sack. It offered rare stability amid a turbulent season for the Cowboys. After the game, Schottenheimer revealed that as the Cowboys fight to finish at .500, Smith will have to adapt. But as far as continuing in that position beyond just this regular season is concerned, Smith has offered some clarity on it. 

“I’m an All-Pro guard, bro. You feel me?” Smith said. “That’s the simple truth if we’re just looking purely off facts. We’ll see what happens. We’ll have those conversations and kind of see where everybody’s head is at.

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“We’ll have those conversations when we have those conversations,” Smith said. “I’m not really letting my mind get too far ahead of that. In my mind, that’s just what it is for the rest of the season.”

It is going to be a familiar territory for Smith, nonetheless. After playing left tackle at the University of Tulsa, he played 17 games in his rookie season (2022-23) at the position after Tyron Smith was sidelined with an injury and started two more times on the outside before last Sunday. In his four years in the league, he has started 41 games at left guard and 20 at left tackle.

The situation developed for the Cowboys more out of necessity. The team’s starting left tackle, Tyler Guyton, suffered a high ankle sprain and missed his fourth straight game in Week 16. First-year backup Nathan Thomas also went down with a shoulder injury. Suddenly, the Cowboys faced a massive hole protecting quarterback Dak Prescott’s blind side. Expectedly, Smith became the logical solution because this isn’t unfamiliar territory for him.

“Put Tyler at center. He can do it all,” the quarterback said in a presser after the Week 16 game. “We’re good at center, but honestly, he can play whatever he wants. That’s a credit to that guy. The moment they told me they’re going to go with Tyler at left tackle, I was great with it. No hesitation in my mind. There was no doubt of what he was going to be able to do.”

Schottenheimer also echoed the QB’s sentiments regarding the three-time Pro Bowler. He called Smith a “luxury to have” in today’s NFL. But more importantly, he also confirmed that the team spoke with Smith before making the position change. 

“Tyler certainly can play out there,” Schottenheimer said in a presser last week. “When we made the decision, we talked to him and the decision was made that we’re going to do it for the year.”

Still, it’s debatable whether an agreement on the football side makes it right from a contractual standpoint for Smith. If Dallas’ long-term plan involves keeping him at left tackle, then Smith’s current contract would make him a bargain at one of the league’s most valuable positions.