2nd-year jump? Cowboys disappointing NT Mazi Smith out until camp after shoulder surgery

With things tight against the salary cap causing the Dallas Cowboys to lose two defensive tackles in free agency with Neville Gallimore going to the Miami Dolphins and Jonathan Hankins going to the Seattle Seahawks, the team is counting on a big second year from Mazi Smith.

But Smith, a disappointment as rookie in 2023 after being picked in the first round out of Michigan, is already facing an uphill battle.

He underwent shoulder surgery after the season and will be sidelined from 4-to-6 months, per coach Mike McCarthy.

Smith should be ready for the start of training camp.

“I’m looking for Mazi to take that step. No bones about it,” McCarthy said. Now if you just look at the dynamics of the room and obviously we’ll continue to add to that room, but he’s going to have a lot more opportunity in front of him. He’s definitely one of the guys that needs to take that big second year jump and I think he’ll do that.”

The Cowboys don’t know when the shoulder issue developed but they believe it impacted his ability to perform as a rookie.

Add in Smith inexplicably losing weight, going from a 337-pound run stuffer to under 300 pounds in an failed effort to handle the responsibilities of the NFL game.

He played just 28 percent of the plays on defense in 17 games in 2023 and recorded only 13 tackles. Smith was on the field for just four snaps in the 48-32 season-ending playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Cowboys are counting on him to start in 2024. He is putting the weight back on. But rather than training in the off season he will spend the bulk of the next few months rehabbing.

“He lost some weight,” McCarthy said. “Last year was a big adjustment for him so I think there’s a lot that goes into the transition that these guys make. He’s not immune to that. I think now that he’ll have a better plan and we need to help him with that plan to be at the proper weight and maintain it.”

It is not an ideal turn of events for the Cowboys who need their young players to step up in place of veteran free agent departures.

Smith’s setback was only compounded in the last week by tight end Luke Schoonmaker, a 2023 second-round pick out of Michigan as well who also also had a disappointing rookie season.

Schoomaker suffered a shoulder injury training last week and was also forced to undergo surgery that will keep him sidelined until the start of training camp in August.

Schoonmaker caught just eight passes for 65 yards as rookie in 2023.