Whether or not they choose to do it, the Dallas Cowboys have to seriously consider if keeping Jaylon Smith on board is in the team’s best interest. Full disclosure, I was against drafting Smith to begin with. His injury seemed to be too insurmountable to be a contributor in his early years and that proved to be correct. I was also against giving him an extension when they did as locking him in completely voided the remaining cheap labor and control of his rookie contract.
But here the Cowboys are, watching him be generally a bad player, week in and week out. There are caveats of course. After what should’ve been a Pro Bowl nomination in 2018, Smith regressed in 2019 (but got the honor). A new coaching staff took over, saw the tape and said he shouldn’t be a middle linebacker any longer and spent the truncated offseason with him on the weak side.
Week 1 saw those plans go up in smoke with Leighton Vander Esch’s injury and Smith having to move back to the Mike. Since, he’s looked completely lost more often than not, slow to react and many times going in the opposite direction of where he should on a play. Aside from the fact he never regained his insane athleticism from his pre-injury days, his instincts now seem bad.
Whether or not that’s because of the position change, complicated Mike Nolan scheme or lack of attention to detail is something outside observers don’t know.
What we can know is that this isn’t working.
The Cowboys front office loves Smith for multiple reasons. He is a very intelligent guy with an amazing redemption story. He’s a true team player, is involved heavily in the community and trying to uplift folks and has a keen business sense. People rightfully want to root for him.
But those things are not what makes a guy worthy of a big deal. Dallas gave that to him, and now they have to take a serious look into whether they should honor the backend of the extension they gave him or look to cut bait.