FRISCO, Texas – On Monday, the Cowboys held a walkthrough practice as they prepare to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night football. Back on the field for this first time since training camp in Oxnard was All-Pro guard Tyler Smith.

Earlier in the day, the Cowboys officially opened his 21-day return to practice window after Smith was placed on injured reserve before the season began with a thumb injury that required surgery. Even with a short week, Smith says there's a chance he plays Thursday night.

"I think it's possible," Smith said. "We're not ruling anything out. Obviously, there's limited reps this week with just with a quick turnaround on Thursday. But we're going to do some work tomorrow, kind of see how it feels and then ultimately when I feel ready, when the coaches feel like I'm ready, it's boots on the ground and we're rolling."

The official prognosis for Smith was a torn thumb and UCL that he says happened during training camp in Oxnard. After the Cowboys' joint practice with the New Orleans Saints is when Smith says he began to notice it.

"I tried to practice, tried to see what I could do, but ultimately I ended up making it a little bit worse," Smith said. "Ultimately, we had to end up getting surgery. It's unfortunate, but it's nobody's fault. It's what happens when you play football at a high level."

The biggest issue for Smith with the injury was he couldn't grab opponents to block or punch because of the injury, which is crucial at the position.

"I just couldn't do my job as an o-lineman," Smith said. "We hand fight, we see somebody every play. I's not like I'm in space or I'm dropping back on a drop back or I'm tackling somebody, I have to block, and I have to manhandle somebody every play. That was my biggest issue. If I could do all those things with no issues, we wouldn't have had a problem."

Smith has spent the last few weeks conditioning and rehabbing the injury with Dallas' medical staff and says his conditioning "feels fine" and has been working diligently to stay in shape for when he could return.

"I feel strong, my range of motion and everything is getting better each and every day," Smith said. "At the end of the day, there's also going to be a recovery phase while you're playing ball. When you're playing an NFL season, nothing's ever going to be fully healed, it doesn't matter who you are. Ultimately, I'm at a place where I feel like I can perform. That's the biggest thing for me."

Smith called the recovery process an "extremely frustrating" one to go through.

"This is one of the hardest things I've dealt with as a football player in my career," Smith said. "I've gone through things, but nothing quite like this. But I think it's good to go through. It's good to know when you have to make a choice for yourself or ultimately make a choice for the team as well. But ultimately, my goal still remains the same. We got to get this championship. When I come back, I'm going to be a key contributor."

Ultimately, Smith says he made the decision to get surgery and take care of the injury because it was best for the health of his career. With that, he believes the decision was also best for his team.

"Honestly, if I'm out there and I'm at 25% or not where I need to be, not only am I hurting myself, but I'm hurting the team too," Smith said. "We've seen storylines around the NFL, I won't call out any names, but when guys put themselves in that predicament, at the end of the day, you're the one who's accountable for what you put on tape. You're the one who's accountable for who you show up to the field as. And when I show up, I want to be able to give everything that I got to give."

Smith has garnered a reputation for being one of the tougher player in the NFL, and certainly has been on the Cowboys with 63 starts through the first four seasons of his career. Toughness is a natural attribute for offensive linemen as well, but there is a limit.

"There is a point, I feel like as football players, we're all tough. Even me, myself, I feel like I'm the toughest dude in the world. But at the end of the day, you've got to be realistic with yourself," Smith said. "You've got to do what not only is best for you, but what's best for the team. I'd advise any young athlete or any guy playing at a high level to do the same thing. You only get one career."

During his time rehabbing, Smith says he's made a point to continue trying to find ways to help his fellow offensive linemen and teammates from the sidelines.

"The biggest thing for me was just making sure I was being in service to my teammates at the same time," Smith said. "Even though I couldn't play and I couldn't do those things, there were other things I could do to still help the guys be prepared during the week and other things I could do to still help the guys dominate during the game. I tried to focus on that aspect of it in terms of just being a great teammate, being somebody who's still a contributor at the end of the day. But it was tough, it definitely was tough."

The Cowboys will hold their one and only practice of the short week tomorrow, where Smith will test out for the first time how his thumb handles the usual stresses and circumstances of playing his position. There'll be a cast on his thumb in order to protect it, and Smith says where he is now compared to when he began the process is "night and day."

"I'm going to go through, do some things with some teammates to kind of see how I'm feeling and then we'll make an educated decision from there." Smith said.