Cowboys OL Rumors: Bass, Volson

Smith, who will open 2026 on IR after undergoing thumb surgery, will be eligible to return in Week 5. In the three-time Pro Bowler’s absence, the Cowboys will turn to T.J. Bass at left guard. Bass drew trade interest during the offseason and before cutdown day on Aug. 30, but the Cowboys told inquiring teams he was not available, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.

Although Bass only started in 10 of 48 games in his first three seasons, It’s clear the Cowboys place a high value on the former undrafted free agent. That became obvious when they tendered Bass at the second-round level in the offseason. Doing so scared off other teams from attempting to steal Bass with an offer sheet in restricted free agency.

Nick Leverett and Ajani Cornelius are on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster as backups to Bass and starting right guard Tyler Booker, but they want more experienced options behind them. Dallas added 11-year veteran Laken Tomlinson to its practice squad Wednesday, so it is unknown if the club is still open to signing Volson.

The 6-foot-6, 325-pounder Volson joined the Bengals as a fourth-round pick in 2022 and won their starting left guard job as a rookie. He held the position for most of his first three seasons, a 50-game span in which he made 48 starts, but a shoulder injury kept him out all of last year.

Despite his one-year absence, the Titans gave Volson a $3.22MM deal with $2MM guarantees when he became a free agent in March. It initially looked as if Volson would serve as Tennessee’s No. 1 right guard, but he lost the competition to fifth-round rookie Fernando Carmona during the summer. The Titans later released Volson on cutdown day. Dallas is the only team that has shown reported interest in the 26-year-old since then.