Dallas Cowboys’ Tyron Smith Replacing San Francisco 49ers’ Joe Staley
Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith will be replacing San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle as a perennial staple of the Pro Bowl in the coming years, according to NFL.com.
On Tuesday, the NFL announced that Joe Staley had been selected to play in the Pro Bowl game this year. He has again anchored the left side of the San Francisco 49ers offensive line.
Other offensive tackles receiving the honors were Joe Thomas, Trent Williams, Jason Peters, and Andrew Whitlock — excellent players who all deserve to join Staley in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Another player that will be joining Joe at the Pro Bowl is Tyron Smith, who is the centerpiece of the dominant offensive line built by the Dallas Cowboys over the past couple of years.
Since 2011, Joe Staley has been selected to the Pro Bowl after showing the NFL that he is more than capable of protecting the blindside of various San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks.
At 31 years of age, he probably has a couple more good seasons left in him before declining. Not everyone is going to be Jackie Slater, the legend who was still solid at 41 years old.
Since 2013, Smith has represented the Cowboys at the Pro Bowl. The former USC Trojans star is just 25 years old, so you can expect his streak will be a lot longer than three years.
A huge reason for that is because Tyron Smith is an absolute beast of a player to go up against. Some of the best defensive ends and linebackers have had trouble getting past him.
Smith is a freak of nature when it comes to his size, strength, speed, and overall athleticism. At 6’5?, 350 pounds, he’s long enough to grab anyone and is strong enough to hold on tight.
Another part of the reason why Tyron will be going to Hawaii every year is because votes often times are given based on reputation. Once you’re in, people generally keep voting for you.
Reputation is a big reason why Joe has been getting free vacations to Honolulu every year. Even though he hasn’t played up to par this season, the votes still kept coming in for him.
Winning also plays a big part in NFL players being selected for the Pro Bowl. The Carolina Panthers are still undefeated this year, and not surprisingly, ten players were selected.
Dallas has a 4-10 record right now, which is really disappointing when you consider that they were supposed to compete for the Super Bowl, but that should turn around next season.
Of course, the Cowboys are one of those rare teams that will have a lot of supporters even if they’re not winning. The blind loyalty helps Tyron Smith receive votes, even in down years.
It will be a sad day when Joe Staley is no longer playing in the Pro Bowl every year, but that is the cycle of life in the NFL. Old players leave the game and get replaced by younger ones.
Tyron Smith will be the one replacing Joe Staley, but some day Smith himself will get old. Once he is out of the NFL, another young buck will rise up and replace him in the Pro Bowl.
A changing of the guard will constantly take place in the NFL.
[Featured Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]
