The Dallas Cowboys made a surprising move on Tuesday regarding their defense.
Dallas cut linebacker Jaylon Smith despite him being owed $7.2 million.
The 26-year-old was a 2nd-round pick by the Cowboys in 2016, though he missed that season due to an injury he suffered in Notre Dame’s bowl game. He has not missed a game since beginning to play in the 2017 season and made the Pro Bowl in 2019. Smith had 18 tackles in four games this season.
Dallas signed Smith to a 6-year, $68.4 million contract before the 2019 season. He still has five years left on his contract and will count for $16.6 million in dead cap money.
Wow. Jaylon Smith had 5 years, $50.75M left on his contract.
His release leaves behind $16.6M of dead cap to the #Cowboys
2021: $9.8M ($7.2M cash)
2022: $6.8M https://t.co/rWEOHdkOS4— Spotrac (@spotrac) October 6, 2021
Smith has actually graded out fairly well this season according to PFF, making the move even more surprising.
The #Cowboys have released LB Jaylon Smith per @AdamSchefter
Smith: 69.5 grade in 2021 (11th among LBs, min. 100 snaps) pic.twitter.com/lKeuFdEAIA
— PFF (@PFF) October 6, 2021
Photo: Jeffrey Beall/Wikimedia via CC-BY 4.0
