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After their win in Week 4 over the Carolina Panthers, the Dallas Cowboys made a decision few saw coming as they were set to face the New York Giants next Sunday. Jaylon Smith, the team’s former second-round pick, has been informed of his release – sources told CBS Sports on Tuesday. Smith entered training camp on a roster bubble created by Micah Parsons’ selection in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, followed by a double down to the position where they selected Jabril Cox in the fourth round after signing Keanu Neal and converting him to linebacker.
And with that, Smith was essentially put on notice, just weeks after the Cowboys guaranteed his salary for 2021. And because of that guarantee, this release will force the team to voluntarily digest his remaining salary, which is rising. to about $ 7.6 million. Sources also note that the decision was passed on to Smith directly from owner Jerry Jones – the veteran linebacker’s greatest defenseman after helping treat him from a devastating knee injury that many believed would end his NFL career. before it starts.
Instead, with the help of Cowboys medical staff, Smith returned to the sport and won Pro Bowl honors, before suffering a year-over-year regression leading to 2021. Now released, he will seek a fresh start elsewhere, and the Cowboys will look to Leighton Vander Esch – from a veteran perspective – with Parsons and, presumably, Cox ascending to the top of the LB depth card.
The decision itself has a timeline that many question, and for good reason.
First, the Cowboys signed Smith to a five-year, $ 65 million contract extension in 2019, and the structure of that means they’re potentially going to eat millions from their salary cap (the keyword is “potentially,” but more to come on that in a moment) to free a linebacker who played in 54 (76%) defensive snaps in the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, delivering nine tackles and see his stock go up a little in the process. He would go on to record 50 defensive shots in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the writing on the wall might have been a little easier to read seeing how his shot count last Sunday fell to just 28, which was in large part because the Cowboys brought Parsons back to linebacker for this contest.
And given that Smith doesn’t play against special teams, it looks like defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was starting to have a hard time forcing him into the rotation just for salary purposes. So the linebacker who paid thousands of his salary in a controversial decision to upgrade his jersey from No.54 to No.9, the one he wore at Notre Dame, will never wear it for the Cowboys again.
Also, from a list perspective, the decision between who will safely start when Donovan Wilson (groin) is healthy could see him or Jayron Kearse, a recent star who won the starter role in the absence. Wilson’s turn to position while the other assists in nickel packets to linebacker. There are many ways for Quinn to weave his web at the post, and all of these make Smith all the more disposable but, even more so, all the more so since he’s a liability when considering contract terms.
Speaking of salary, sources also point to a clause that will guarantee Smith his full salary in 2022 if he is injured, to the tune of $ 9.2 million. They thought their only other real option was a trade, but the interest they received on Smith for a possible trade earlier this year has now dried up to start October, as the need for a position around the league does not vibrate with the $ 7.6 million salary the acquiring club would have to absorb to bring it on board in addition to relinquishing any asset – even if that asset was a conditional end-of-round pick in 2022 or so. -of the.
It is true that the Cowboys could have made this decision earlier and potentially saved millions, and no one should excuse them for this error in judgment, but with so many new faces joining the defense both in free agency and in the draft, they were hedging their bets that Smith would be insurance against a slow start for the pool of incoming talent. But given how exceptional their rookie defensive class has been with their veteran additions, as well as the upcoming return of several injured reserve players who will require freeing up roster space, it no longer made sense. from a staff perspective to keep Smith around.
And releasing him in the first week of October does him the favor of giving him a very real chance at quickly finding another NFL home.
At this point, there is an additional roll of the dice here for the Cowboys, because if Smith signed elsewhere, there is compensatory language in his contract that would likely remove part of the $ 7.6 million cap reached for his. release. This is somewhat of a financial chess move for Jones and the Cowboys, hoping to avoid the maximum penalty for the remainder of 2021 while avoiding a nearly $ 10 million hit in 2022. , if Smith was injured.
With Neal set to return this week from the reserve / COVID-19 roster, the Cowboys were going to have to make a corresponding roster change, and they just did.
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