The Green Bay Packers have brought back a familiar face for their offensive line room as they ready to face the Dallas Cowboys without right tackle Zach Tom.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Packers re-signed guard/center Lecitus Smith on Wednesday to their practice squad, giving him the spot on the 16-man roster that was vacated when the Packers promoted tackle Brant Banks to the active roster.
Smith spent time on the Packers’ practice squad during the 2024 season and competed for a roster spot with them in training camp this summer, playing 72 snaps at center for them in their three preseason games. He also made two starts at guard and played 209 total offensive snaps for the Arizona Cardinals as a rookie sixth-rounder in 2022.
The return of Smith should reinforce the Packers’ offensive line reserves. He and rookie tackle Dalton Cooper are the only offensive linemen on the Packers’ practice squad.
The Packers (2-1) will take on the Cowboys (1-2) for Sunday Night Football in Week 4.
Zach Tom Unlikely to Play for Packers vs. Cowboys
The Packers are unlikely to promote Smith to their game-day roster so quickly after re-signing him to their practice squad, but they will need to adjust against the Cowboys with Tom — their starting right tackle — expectedly out of the picture for Sunday night.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tom is “not expected to play” against the Cowboys in prime time after injuring his oblique in Week 3’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Tom had initially injured his oblique in Week 1’s win over the Detroit Lions and entered last week with a “questionable” designation on the injury report after spending the week of practice as a limited participant. While the Packers cleared him to play, he played one snap of offense before his oblique gave him trouble and he pulled out of the matchup.
“I wouldn’t say he further reaggravated,” LaFleur told reporters Monday. “I think it was, more or less, it’s always hard to simulate what you’re going to face in a game. You’d have to ask him, but I think that the force of the guy that he’s going against, it hurt him. He didn’t feel like he could go.”
The Packers seem likely to start second-round rookie Anthony Belton — who finished out the game against the Browns at right tackle — in Tom’s place against the Cowboys, but they have also played Jordan Morgan and Darian Kinnard at the spot this year.
How Will Packers’ Patchwork OL Fare vs. Cowboys?
Unfortunately for the Packers, Tom is not the only starting offensive lineman who may have to sit because of an injury against the Cowboys for Sunday Night Football.
Packers left guard Aaron Banks, who signed a four-year, $77 million contract in March during free agency, also dropped out of the loss to the Browns with a groin injury and did not return to the lineup. He also sat out Wednesday’s first practice of Week 4.
Through three games, Banks has been a disaster of a signing for the Packers. Not only is he in line to potentially miss his second game of the season in Week 4 (after sitting out of Week 2’s win with ankle and groin injuries), but he is also not performing well when he is healthy enough to play.
According to Pro Football Focus, Banks has allowed one sack and two pressures on just 43 pass-blocking snaps in 2025. He has also struggled mightily against the run on his other 31 snaps, earning him the sixth-lowest run-blocking grade (41.6) and the fourth-worst overall grade (38.3) among 95 eligible guards, based on the analytics site’s data.
If Banks cannot play against the Cowboys, the Packers will likely have no choice but to start Morgan — their 2024 first-round pick — at left guard and Belton at right tackle, leaving them with limited reserve options if another injury strikes them in Week 4.
Whether the Packers’ patchwork offensive line will hold up against the Cowboys — and former Green Bay Pro Bowler Kenny Clark — remains an enormous question mark.
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