Tag: Tyron Smith

The Cowboys toughest free agent loss to fill in the 2024 NFL draft

The Cowboys are leaning on the draft to fill many of the holes on their roster but which hole is the hardest to fill in 2024? | From @ReidDHanson

To say the 2024 free agency period has been a tough one for Cowboys fans is a bit of an understatement. Dallas took their usual approach to the annual swap meet, letting the high-ticket items sort themselves out and waiting for the bargains to slip through the cracks and into their waiting arms.

The Cowboys came to terms with a handful of their own free agents, locking up RB Rico Dowdle, CB Jourdan Lewis, special teamers C.J. Goodwin and Trent Sieg. They even signed an outside free agent in LB Eric Kendricks to a reasonable deal. Yet all of these signings pale in comparison to their losses. It’s clear the Cowboys have a net loss in talent on their roster and will need the draft if they hope to climb out of the hole free agency has put them in.

Since not all positions are created equal and some solutions are easier to find in the draft than others, strategy will need to be employed if the Cowboys hope to build a contender in 2024. In the strategy sessions leading up to the draft, Dallas would be wise to identify the hardest positions to fill and prioritize accordingly.

But what position is hardest? Which free agent loss will be the most difficult to fill in the 2024 NFL draft?

The free agent departure who signed for the most APY and highest guaranteed happens to Dorance Armstrong. The Cowboys rotational DE played a big part on Dan Quinn’s defense in 2023 so it’s understandable Quinn took the young man with him to Washington. Joining Armstrong in the move to our nation’s capital is DE Dante Fowler. The two players combine to leave behind a significant hole at DE, making it an underrated need in Dallas this offseason.

Dallas’ leading rusher Tony Pollard followed the money out of town, leaving the Cowboys in a tough situation at the RB position. But RBs, much like LBs, can be found all over the draft so replacing Pollard should be a relatively doable task, provided the Cowboys do their individual scouting well.

The OC position is another spot which sustained a significant loss in free agency. But options are everywhere throughout the draft and the OC position is a spot where Dallas could tread water with even below average play.

The one position they can’t fake it is the position tasked with protecting Dak Prescott’s blind side. LT, vacated by Tyron Smith in free agency, is the most important position , and the hardest, to fill in the draft. Premium LTs are typically only found in the first round so the Cowboys can’t afford to miss out with their top pick this April.

Helping the Cowboys in this difficult task is the presence of Tyler Smith. Smith has LT ability and the Cowboys have expressed a willingness to use him at LT if they need to in 2024.

With Smith on the roster, Dallas wouldn’t be required to draft a plug-and-play LT because Smith could man the post in the short-term. It would allow the Cowboys to draft someone like Amarius Mims or Tyler Guyton who are more developmental in nature, but still require first-round investment.

The Cowboys sure didn’t make things easy for themselves this offseason but if they prioritize correctly, they should be able to fill many of their needs in the draft.

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Jerry Jones: Jets’ incentives for Tyron Smith would have ‘really wrecked’ Cowboys financially

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys owner claims that the $20M Smith could earn in New York was just too much and compared his departure to another Cowboys legend.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones once famously said that there was no check too big for him to write in pursuit of another world championship.

But as it turns out, there is: the one he might have had to write to Tyron Smith.

Jones made a surprising claim to reporters over the weekend at the league meetings in Orlando, addressing for the first time the departure of the eight-time Pro Bowler. The 33 year-old, who was the club’s first-round draft pick in 2011, left in free agency to sign last week with the New York Jets.

His loss- both at left tackle and in the locker room- will be a major obstacle for the 2024 Cowboys to try to overcome. Jones likened the situation to 2014, when the team released longtime defensive standout DeMarcus Ware after nine seasons.

“We both hated it,” Jones said, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

Ware went on to win a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos and ultimately make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was also named to the Cowboys Ring of Honor last season.

Smith seems to be on a similar track, although the Super Bowl ring is very much up in the air.

But so is Smith’s compensation for 2024, thanks to an incentive-laden contract that ultimately made the prospect of keeping the offensive tackle too expensive for the world’s most valuable sports franchise.

Smith is slated to earn $6.5 million guaranteed this season, an absolute bargain for a lineman of his rare abilities. But the rest of Smith’s paycheck will come from bonuses based on how many snaps he plays, whether he makes the Pro Bowl, and how many playoff wins the Jets can rack up.

If Smith meets every single one of the contractual mile markers? Very unlikely, but it would bring the grand total to $20 million for one season.

“You know how highly he is thought of by us,” Jones said. “[But] We can’t afford that. We can’t afford that. If he makes all of these incentives and things like that, we would be really wrecked.”

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That’s a hard pill to swallow, coming from an owner who has always- publicly, anyway- prided himself on being able to find a way to retain any player he’s truly wanted to keep.

But like Ware before him (and even Emmitt Smith a decade before that), Tyron Smith will now wear another team’s uniform because Jones has decided to gamble that the Cowboys got the best years out of him and is unwilling to pony up for what could- but probably won’t- turn into an obscenely overpriced farewell tour.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Wrapping up NFL free agency for 2024

2024 NFL free agency is just about in the books, so it’s time for Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar to analyze the biggest transactions in the second wave.

Now that most of NFL free agency for the 2024 league year is in the bag — though there are a few helpful players still on the open market — it’s time for Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, to recap the biggest and most important moves in the second wave of this free agency phase. Greg and Doug covered the first day of free agency last week in the Xs and Os; here’s the conclusion.

Among the discussion points:

  • What does Brian Burns bring to a Giants defensive line that already has Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence?
  • Can Justin Fields become the best version of himself in the Steelers’ offense?
  • Conversely, can Kenny Pickett turn his career around with the Eagles?
  • How can Calvin Ridley use his true X-Iso skill set to ramp up the Titans’ offense?
  • Can the Texans’ addition of Danielle Hunter, along with Will Anderson Jr. and Denico Autry, make Houston’s defensive line a Super Bowl-level group?
  • What can Hollywood Brown do for the Chiefs?
  • Tyron Smith is a future Hall of Famer, but what will he be able to do for the Jets’ offensive line in the short term?
  • Chase Young has been an inconsistent pass-rusher throughout his NFL career; can he turn it around with the Saints?
  • The Lions made important additions to their defensive line and their secondary; can all that put them over the top?
  • The Falcons already have a ton of weapons for new quarterback Kirk Cousins. How will the addition of receiver Rondale Moore affect what looks like one of like the NFL’s most explosive offenses (in theory, at least)?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Tyron Smith’s Jets contract has Cowboys fans mad all over again

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 8x-Pro Bowler could earn up to $20M, but only through a lot of incentives he likely won’t reach. The Cowboys could have done that deal.

Most Cowboys fans were hopeful that the team would work a deal to bring longtime left tackle Tyron Smith back in 2024. Then they were disappointed at the news that Smith was heading east to play for the Jets. Then there was a small sigh of relief when it was revealed the oft-injured 33-year-old was signing a contract worth “up to $20 million.” That was followed by sadness when Smith posted a heartfelt farewell to Cowboys Nation.

But now that the actual terms of Smith’s deal have been revealed, the overriding emotion among the fanbase is anger– that the front office didn’t do more to keep the surefire Hall of Famer in the silver and blue.

Because it looks like Gang Green may have just gotten the bargain of the year in Smith.

Even the Jets “were surprised he took the offer,” according to ProFootballTalk.

As broken down by SI.com’s Albert Breer, Smith is fully guaranteed to earn just $6.5 million this season in New York. That’s practically pocket change for a surefire Hall of Famer who’s still performing at an All-Pro level. And it’s well within what the Dallas front office could have offered, with even the few bookkeeping moves they’ve made thus far.

By way of comparison, Brandin Cooks is set to make more in 2024. So is Terence Steele. And it’s just barely more than Donovan Wilson or Trey Lance.

That $6.5 million figure represents a slight dip from Smith’s 2023 total earnings of $7.3 million with the Cowboys, but the majority of that came from incentives. As it turns out, Smith’s Jets contract also offers plenty in the way of bonuses.

That’s where the $20 million max comes from. And while that makes for a nice round number for conversational purposes, it’s hard to imagine Smith actually cashes in on all of those financial mile markers.

For instance, if Smith sees the field on 68% of the Jets’ offensive snaps in 2024, he’ll pocket an extra $5.75 million.

In 2023, he was in on 71.54% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps, but that was his highest snap count since 2019. (Despite his healthiest and most dominant season in a while, Smith still missed four games.) And his 2022 and 2020 snap counts wouldn’t even get him to the first threshold of bonuses in his current New York contract.

An even higher tier of snap count incentives could get Smith up to an additional $6.25 million (on top of the first bonus), but that figure is only if he plays on 98% or more of the offensive snaps. That’s a total the former first-round draft pick hasn’t reached since 2015, nearly a decade ago. Since he hasn’t surpassed 74% in the last four years, Smith tapping into that second bonus bracket at all feels like a serious roll of the dice.

And while it’s not unthinkable that Smith could claim another $500,000 for a ninth Pro Bowl nod this season, him counting on too many of those $250,000 bumps for Jets playoff wins also feels like a reach- even with a healthy Aaron Rodgers- in the stacked AFC.

How much Smith will ultimately take home in 2024 obviously depends primarily on how much he plays, which will be decided mostly by how healthy he can stay. And while he theoretically could amass $20 million in his first year in Gotham, the realistic odds are he’ll earn considerably less.

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Whatever Smith ends up making this season, the Cowboys likely could have scraped together (without too much trouble) the same amount to keep him in town.

To put it bluntly, they just didn’t want to.

The Cowboys would apparently rather start over at left tackle- Dak Prescott’s main protector- and take what will be a fifth-round compensatory draft pick in 2025 in exchange for a man they’ll probably put in their Ring of Honor one day.

And that will have the Cowboys’ fans in all kinds of feels for 2024.

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Contract details and incentives for Jets tackle Tyron Smith

A look at the contract numbers and incentives for new Jets offensive tackle Tyron Smith.

The Jets are taking a bit of a risk on offensive tackle Tyron Smith due to his injury history. But because of that, the Jets based a good chunk of his potential 2024 compensation on how much Smith actually plays next season.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared those playtime incentives for Smith and shows he can earn up to $12 million based on the percentage of offensive snaps he ends up playing.

First off, Smith is guaranteed $6.5 million ($2 million base salary, $4.5 million signing bonus).

As far as the $12 million from playing time, it breaks down as such for the first tier:

38% of offensive snaps: $750,000
44%: $1.75 million
50%: $2.75 million
56%: $3.75 million
62%: $4.75 million
68%: $5.75 million

Then Smith has a second tier of incentives he can also obtain. That breakdown is this:

74%: $1.25 million
80%: $2.5 million
86%: $3.75 million
92%: $5 million
98%: $6.25 million

The second tier works on top of the first tier. So, for example, if he plays 74% of the offensive snaps, he gets the $5.75 million from the first tier plus $1.25 million from the second tier for a total of $7 million. So if he plays 98% of the snaps, he gets the full $12 million.

The remaining $1.5 million comes in the form of playoff wins and the Pro Bowl. Smith gets $250,000 for each playoff win ($1 million max) and an additional $500,000 for the Pro Bowl.

Altogether, Smith can earn $20 million this season.

With the first playtime incentive likely to be listed as a “likely to be earned” incentive, that amount will count against the Jets’ cap this season, making his 2024 cap hit $12.25 million. If he plays more and makes more, that amount will be charged against the 2025 salary cap. If he plays and makes less, the Jets will get a salary cap credit for the amount.

That’s if the Jets keep this all in one year. Joe Douglas does have the option to use void years as well to spread out the cap hit.

Jets make Tyron Smith signing official

Jets make Tyron Smith signing official

It’s official and it’s real. Tyron Smith, the longtime Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle is now a member of the New York Jets. The team made the signing official Monday.

No deeper details on the contract as of this writing but the basis of the contract is that it is a one-year contract worth up to $20 million. $6.5 million is guaranteed and $13.5 million can be earned via playtime and incentives.

The Jets swooped in late last week when the market on Smith was fairly quiet. The team themselves were surprised Smith took such a deal, but it s a huge win for the Jets who hope they at least have locked up their left tackle for 2024.

The addition of Smith certainly doesn’t stop the Jets from taking a tackle at No. 10 in April’s draft but they’re not completely locked into the position either.

The big story is the Jets have their left tackle position set for next season. At least they hope. Obviously the injury history is well-documented on Smith, who hasn’t played a full season since 2015. Certainly the Jets protected themselves against injury with this contract set up and it’s also why offensive tackle is still very much in play in the first round.

For now, the Jets will celebrate what they hope is a strong signing in March.

Two USC football stars are together on Jets’ offensive line: Tyron Smith and Alijah Vera-Tucker

Tyron Smith and Alijah Vera-Tucker are now on the same offensive line in New York. They can share USC stories.

The New York Jets’ acquisition of Tyron Smith unites the future Pro Football Hall of Famer with another USC Trojan in the Big Apple. Alijah Vera-Tucker and Smith will now be teammates and fellow offensive linemen, tasked with protecting Aaron Rodgers in New York.

Jets Wire wrote about this:

“Smith played 847 snaps in 2023, or 72 percent of the Cowboys’ total snaps on offense, but played only 271 snaps in 2022 and only 60 percent of snaps in 2021. Since 2015, Smith has missed 49 games.

“The addition of Smith now solidifies the Jets’ starting offensive line. With Smith at left tackle, he will have recently signed John Simpson at left guard. Joe Tippmann will be the center, with Alijah Vera-Tucker at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle.”

It will be exciting to see two Trojans together on one of the most interesting teams in the NFL this coming season. If Aaron Rodgers can stay healthy, the Jets might have a chance to do something significant in 2024. We will all be watching this team and its USC linemen.

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Former USC great Tyron Smith leaves Dallas Cowboys, signs with New York Jets

Tyron Smith will now protect Aaron Rodgers in New York.

Former USC Trojan and Dallas Cowboys legend Tyron Smith, who recently became a free agent this NFL offseason, has signed to the New York Jets to a reported one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter.

The 33-year-old offensive tackle is in his 14th season. Smith is an eight-time Pro Bowler who will now try to protect Aaron Rodgers coming off a torn achilles that ended his season on the first play of the 2023 campaign.

Smith himself has missed at least three games every season since 2016. He played only two games in 2020 and four in 2022.

Jets Wire has more on this story:

“Smith, a four-time All-Pro, will immediately slot in as the Jets’ starting left tackle, where he has spent most of his career. Last season, Smith allowed only one sack and 18 regular-season pressures. He ranked fifth in pass-blocking efficiency and was PFF’s top-graded pass-blocking tackle.

“Smith has been an incredibly steady force at one of the game’s most important positions. In fact, you have to go all the way back to the 2017 season to find the last time that Smith surrendered more than two sacks in a season, and on two occasions during that span, he didn’t allow any.”

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Jets land Tyron Smith on what seems like very team-friendly deal

Jets land Tyron Smith on what seems like very team-friendly deal

The Jets found their left tackle for 2024 and the early indications are that the Jets came away with a very favorable contract.

The early indication from Pro Football Talk is that the deal is worth up to $20 million but only $6.5 million is guaranteed. The remaining $13.5 million can be earned through playing time and incentives. Those playtime incentives start at 38 percent, per Mike Garafolo, so that is easily reachable, if he stays healthy.

This looks like a steal for the Jets. It’s a low risk because they initially don’t have that much money committed to Smith and they protect themselves in case Smith does get hurt, as he does have a bit of an injury history. Plus, he isn’t exactly a spring chicken. He’s 33 years old. At least that’s younger than Duane Brown, who was 38.

The Jets were even surprised Smith was willing to take such a deal but with the market getting a little quieter, the Jets swooped in and got their guy. Now, the Jets have their offensive line seemingly set, at least with the starting five.

LT: Tyron Smith
LG: John Simpson
C: Joe Tippmann
RG: Alijah Vera-Tucker
RT: Morgan Moses

Can the Jets put it all together? Can everyone stay healthy? Those are the biggest questions. But they’ve at least set out to do what they needed to and that’s fill the three open spots they had up front. Now it’s time to execute on the field.

Jets solidify offensive line with addition of free agent LT Tyron Smith

The New York Jets have solidified their offensive line unit with the signing of top free agent left tackle Tyron Smith.

The New York Jets solidified their offensive line, signing top free-agent offensive tackle Tyron Smith to a reported one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter.

Schefter would add that this one-year deal could be worth up to $20 million with incentives. Contract specifics are not known at this time. According to Over the Cap, the Jets have $25.3 million in cap space, although a few of their recent additions are not included in that figure.

“Honestly, this has just been happening for the last couple of hours, so I’m still trying to handle things right now,” said Smith via Josina Anderson. Smith added that he’s excited to be a Jet and to protect Aaron Rodgers.

The 33-year-old Smith was considered the best free agent tackle this offseason and is now on the move after spending the first 13 years of his NFL career in Dallas.

Smith, a four-time All-Pro, will immediately slot in as the Jets’ starting left tackle, where he has spent most of his career. Last season, Smith allowed only one sack and 18 regular-season pressures. He ranked fifth in pass-blocking efficiency and was PFF’s top-graded pass-blocking tackle.

Smith has been an incredibly steady force at one of the game’s most important positions. In fact, you have to go all the way back to the 2017 season to find the last time that Smith surrendered more than two sacks in a season, and on two occasions during that span, he didn’t allow any.

Smith played 847 snaps in 2023, or 72 percent of the Cowboys’ total snaps on offense, but played only 271 snaps in 2022 and only 60 percent of snaps in 2021. Since 2015, Smith has missed 49 games.

The addition of Smith now solidifies the Jets’ starting offensive line. With Smith at left tackle, he will have recently signed John Simpson at left guard. Joe Tippmann will be the center, with Alijah Vera-Tucker at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle.

Given that Smith has missed time due to injuries, adding to the offensive line with the 10th overall pick may still be the prudent move for the Jets, but it no longer falls into the must category.

Rebuilding an offensive line unit that was injury-stricken in 2023 and allowed the second-most pressures was at the top of Joe Douglas’ to-do list this offseason, especially with Aaron Rodgers turning 41 this season and coming off an Achilles injury.

But in a matter of five days, Douglas has done that. While Rodgers’ return will, on its own, improve the offense, the ceiling for this unit will likely be determined by how well the offensive line plays.