New Orleans Saints release former Cowboys 2nd round pick Jaylon Smith
The Saints released linebacker Jaylon Smith, a former second-round pick and Dallas Cowboys starter, as the team whittled its roster to 53 players.
Smith, the former Notre Dame standout, was considered to be on the bubble for either sticking with the Saints or leaving. Ian Rapoport was the first to report the news. Rapoport of the NFL Network said that Smith has “got a good chance to return on the practice squad. He’ll have other options, too.”
The Saints signed him on Aug. 11. The Cowboys used a second-round pick on Smith in the 2016 draft.
Jaylon Smith suffered knee injury in Fiesta Bowl. That knocked him from certain first-rounder to the second
Back in 2015, Jaylon Smith won the Butkus Award as college football’s top linebacker. He was a junior and contemplating entering the draft. But he played in the Fiesta Bowl and suffered a significant knee injury. He had reconstructive surgery, then four days later, announced he was leaving school and turning pro.
Pre-Fiesta Bowl, scouts projected Smith as a certain first-round pick, possibly going in the top five. Post-surgery, the draft ceiling on Smith was second round. Some analysts thought he could slip to the third day. However, the Cowboys selected him two picks into the second round. It turned out that their team surgeon was the one who repaired Smith’s torn ligaments.
Jaylon Smith played five seasons for the Cowboys, working as the main starter at middle linebacker for three years. However, in 2021, Dallas cut Smith because he declined to waive a medical clause in his contract. This was after he needed wrist surgery in the off-season.
He spent a sliver of time with the Packers, then signed with the Giants, where he initially went back and forth from the practice squad to the active roster. Last season, he played in 13 games, starting 11 of them. Smith still has practice squad eligibility. Teams can sign up to 16 players for the squad. But only six spots can go to vested veterans.