Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith will be out for a significant stretch to start the season.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport announce Thursday Smith's new knee injury.
It requires surgery, and the recovery time is six to eight weeks.
The 31-year-old soccer player went down with an injury during practice but could walk off independently.
The left tackle for the Cowboys, who have missed 20 games in the past two seasons and haven't played an entire season since 2015, is on injured reserve.
They drafted Tyler Smith as his eventual replacement, but he's been working as a left guard instead.
Josh Ball took some reps at left tackle when Tyron Smith was injured.
Still, in general, the offensive line of the Cowboys is deteriorating.
Now that Tyron Smith has been ruled out for the year with an injury, Dak Prescott's blind side is weaker and will be under more pressure.