Jaylon Smith could be a potential trade candidate for the Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have a log jam at linebacker and mainstay Jaylon Smith could be the odd man out, via trade. This NFL roster cut-down period is sure to be wild and chaotic, unlike any other in recent memory. NFL teams are required to slim down their rosters to the 53-man roster limit by 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Aug. 31.

That date is four days before it usually was on the league calendar in previous years.

Cutting down rosters means players will have to be moved around in a variety of ways on teams.

NFL.com’s Greg Rosenthal believes the Dallas Cowboys could trade linebacker Jaylon Smith. For Smith, the Cowboys have made a lot of moves to build their depth at the position recently, so he becomes expendable. Leighton Vander Esch looks “fresh and healthier than he has in years,” according to Rosenthal.

Micah Parsons is lining up everywhere on the football field and isn’t going to miss a snap. The Cowboys drafted Parsons with the 12th-overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft. NFL.com’s Brian Baldinger has noted how much he loves the skill set Micah Parsons brings to the Dallas Cowboys roster.

Rosenthal talked about the biggest reason why Smith is likely to lose his starting job for the Cowboys when he wrote: “While defensive coordinator Dan Quinn figures to keep three linebackers on the field more than most teams, someone is going to lose snaps here and it’s probably Smith because of his struggles in coverage.” 

PFF even did a write-up mentioning the Cowboys deal Smith back in June. You can read more about that write-up here.

PFF ranked Smith as the 21st best linebacker in the National Football League coming into the 2021 season. They discussed the decline in his play over the past few years when Sam Monson wrote:

“At this point in the rankings, we have hit players who flashed elite play at some point in their past but lost their way in a major fashion, and that perfectly describes Jaylon Smith’s Dallas career. His second NFL season saw him earn an 84.1 overall PFF grade and rank as the sixth-best linebacker in the league. But his play has declined each year since and, along with the rest of the Cowboys’ defense, he was disastrous for much of 2020. We still saw flashes of what he can do in certain games throughout the year, but Dallas needs him to rediscover those positives on a more regular basis next year.”

Jaylon Smith’s NFL Career

Over his four-year NFL career with the Cowboys, Smith has racked up over 300 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and two interceptions.

Devastating Knee Injury

In college, Smith suffered a devastating knee injury in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. He suffered a torn ACL in his knee and also nerve damage. Many people at the time believed the injury was career-threatening.

Some NFL scouts believed before his injury he was a top-10 selection in the draft, but he fell all the way to the 34th overall pick. Bill Huber of Forbes talked about how much money the injury cost Smith in an article.

“Instead, he fell to No. 34, where he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys. Smith signed a four-year, $6.495 million contract. Had Smith gone, say, No. 7 overall, he would have signed a four-year contract worth $18.191 million. That deal would have included $11.4 million of guaranteed money – almost $5 million more than the total value of Smith’s contract.”

Smith’s return from the injury and the fact that he’s been able to play football in the NFL are an incredible story, regardless of where he ends up.