Are the Cowboys in a “soft rebuild?” Executive vice president Stephen Jones wouldn’t describe it that way.
Before the Cowboys faced the Steelers on Sunday night, the discourse surrounding the team focused on the possibility of a light rebuild unfolding. With rookies and first-year players suiting up in key spots for Dallas, many have wondered about the direction the Cowboys are currently taking.
When asked about if the team was in a “soft rebuild” Friday, owner and general manager Jerry Jones agreed. Stephen Jones took a different approach Monday.
“I wouldn’t call it necessarily a rebuild or a light rebuild, I’d call it just recalibrating,” Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “The young guys, all they do is get better. I know Tyler Smith’s first year, he had a lot of growing pains. We still had a great team, and he’s really grown into one of the best offensive linemen in the league in a hurry and I expect our two young guys, [Tyler] Guyton and [Cooper] Beebe to do the same. There’s going to be growing pains, but they’re only going to get better.”
Stephen Jones added that he expects to see continued growth from Guyton, who left Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh with an injury.
When Guyton was off the field, Smith kicked out to left tackle from his usual left guard spot. Although Smith had a strong showing at the position and has succeeded at left tackle in the past, Stephen Jones doesn’t anticipate Smith staying there when Guyton recovers from his injury.
“Like I said, [Guyton] is day to day. He’s just going to grow as a player,” Stephen Jones said. “You’ve got to just have that confidence. It’s great to have a guy like [Smith] if for some reason Guyton does have a setback or something. It’s great to know you’ve got guys like [Smith] who are versatile, who can kick out and play that left tackle. Obviously we’ve got a quality player in T.J. Bass who we think a lot of. Had a lot of confidence in plugging him in and there’s other guys on the line we think if called upon, whether it’s Asim Richards, whether it’s [Matt] Waletzko, will get out there and do their job.”
Listen to the rest of Stephen Jones’ radio appearance here.
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