Brian Schottenheimer isn’t handing out the Cowboys’ starting left tackle job just yet, and that alone keeps this camp battle worth watching.
For now, Tyler Guyton has been taking the reps at LT, but Schottenheimer said the next few practices could swing the competition back toward Nate Thomas. According to Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News on X, formerly Twitter, “Brian Schottenheimer said that today’s padded practice and the joint practice against the Rams could help determine whether Nate Thomas can get back in the LT competition,”
Schottenheimer made it clear Thomas is still pushing.
“Nate gets it. Nate’s competitive. He wants to make that move,” said Schottenheimer.
Thomas, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, has remained with the organization since then, even though he has yet to lock down a starting role. He’s still trying to climb back into the mix and beat out Guyton for the job this season.
The position battle sits inside a bigger Cowboys picture as training camp rolls on. Dallas is about a month away from opening its new season, and the team is looking for a sharper year on defense after that side of the ball struggled badly throughout the 2025 season.
The offensive line has usually been one of Dallas’ strongest groups, and it was solid again last year. That protection helped Dak Prescott produce what would have been an MVP-level season if the Cowboys had won more games.
But the results never followed. Dallas missed the playoffs for a second straight year, with the defense as rough as the offense was productive. This offseason, the Cowboys attacked that problem hard, including using one of their two first-round picks on Caleb Downs.
Dallas opens the new season on September 13.
In Other News...
Cowboys Camp Battles Are Already Reshaping Key Spots On This Roster
Two weeks into training camp, the Cowboys have already started sorting out some of the bigger questions on a defense that is being reshaped under Christian Parker. After the eighth practice, a handful of players have made early impressions in a good way, with Marist Liufau, T.J. Bass, Sam Howell and Shavon Revel Jr. among those drawing notice as Dallas works through the kind of evaluations that can end up mattering once roster cuts arrive.
The other side of that ledger is just as important, and it has left a few established names with work to do before the team gets into the regular season mindset. Jonathan Mingo and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are among the players trying to strengthen their cases, and the next stretch of camp should help clarify which of these early standouts can turn momentum into real roster security. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Camp Injury Report Brings Relief As One Roster Battle Heats Up
The Cowboys eighth padded practice of training camp brought a small dose of good news on the injury front, with the session ending without any new setbacks. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was added to the report, but he is working with the rehab group, while Jalen Thompson was back on the field in pads after working his way back from a hip flexor injury.
Just as important for the roster picture, the injury list is starting to thin at a few spots, with Jaishawn Barham, Devin Moore and Jonathan Bullard all making progress from groin injuries. That matters because camp is moving deeper into the kind of practices where availability starts to shape the competition, and every healthy body is another chance for a player to separate in a battle that is beginning to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Face A Running Back Temptation They May Need To Resist
The Cowboys backup running back race has been one of the more interesting camp storylines, with Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah, Israel Abanikanda and Malik Davis all working to carve out a role. It is the kind of competition that can be hard to ignore this time of year, especially for a team that always has to keep an eye on depth behind its lead backs and on how the roster may need to be shaped before the season settles in.
Across the league, though, there is already a temptation for teams to look elsewhere when a name pops up on the wire, and Dallas has to be careful not to chase every opportunity. The better move may be to keep sorting through its own group and, if a change is truly needed, look toward a more proven veteran rather than disrupt a battle that is still giving the Cowboys useful information about what they have in-house. [Read more 🡒]