Cowboys get guard Tyler Smith back against Bucs, but newly acquired Porter is out with illness

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are getting Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith back, but Joey Porter Jr. will miss his second game since a trade with Pittsburgh because of an illness.

Smith is set to make his season debut against Tampa Bay on Thursday night after he was activated coming off left thumb surgery just before the opener . Porter was a late scratch in a move announced just a few minutes before the deadline for the game's active rosters.

The 25-year-old Smith missed the minimum of four games after going on injured reserve. He sustained ligament damage in his thumb during training camp and tried to play through it. The decision on surgery came the week of Dallas' season-opening 28-20 loss to the New York Giants.

Smith had been listed as questionable after not getting a chance to participate in a full practice during a short week.

The four games missed are already a career high for Smith, a first-round draft pick in 2022. He played left tackle his entire rookie year after perennial Pro Bowler Tyron Smith was injured in training camp. Smith missed a total of five games over his first four seasons.

Porter had a limited role in his Dallas debut, a 34-30 victory over Houston just three days after he reported to the Cowboys following the deal with the Steelers.

The trade came with Porter and Pittsburgh in a stalemate over a new contract. He was inactive the first three games of the season with the Steelers, purportedly with a back issue. But Porter never showed up on the injury report with a back issue once he showed up in Dallas.

The return of Smith puts the entire projected starting lineup on the field together after T.J. Bass filled in for Smith, who is the second-most tenured lineman for Dallas behind right tackle Terence Steele.

The Cowboys waived running back Emari Demercado to make room for Smith on the 53-man roster. Dallas (2-2) also promoted cornerback Reddy Steward and safety Juanyeh Thomas from the practice squad for the meeting with the Bucs.

Steward and Thomas also were brought up from the practice squad for last weekend's 34-30 victory over Houston.

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