Jaylon Smith has easily been the most maligned player on the Cowboys’ roster for over a year now. But while many are questioning his future in Dallas, Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn is not.
Quinn took time yesterday to praise Smith for being “excellent” to coach and someone he looks to for advice and insight on how the team is doing.
With regressing play in 2019 and an even sharper decline last year, Smith’s become the favorite punching bag for many Cowboys fans.
His tone-deaf choice this year to switch to the #9 jersey — still linked to the beloved Tony Romo — only made matters worse.
Dallas may have very well released Smith this offseason if it would’ve offered more benefit to the salary cap. But at this point, Jaylon appears to be remaining with the Cowboys for at least one more year.
While this may be a source of frustration for some, Dan Quinn doesn’t seem to mind.
Dan Quinn said Cowboys LB Jaylon Smith has been “excellent” to coach. Likely to be featured differently than in previous years. They communicate openly about that. Dan: “Someone I definitely lean on for insight of where we are, how we’re doing, what’s been too much, not enough.”
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) August 19, 2021
It’s only appropriate that Jaylon steps into a leadership role after Sean Lee’s retirement.
This is Smith’s sixth year in Dallas, the longest tenure of any active linebacker on the roster. He and Keanu Neal were both products of the 2016 NFL Draft but Neal has spent the last five years in Atlanta.
In fact, only DeMarcus Lawrence and a couple of other players on the whole defense have more NFL years at this point than Jaylon Smith.
For experience and leadership to have value, though, they generally have to be backed up on the field.
Smith doesn’t have the credibility of someone like Sean Lee at this point and he’ll have to change that quickly if he wants to remain in Dallas beyond 2021.
In 2022, the Cowboys can release Smith outright for $5 million in cap relief, or $9.2 million as a post-June-1 cut.
Frankly, it may already be too late.
Dallas has two exciting rookies at linebacker in Micah Parsons and Jabril Cox, plus is already seeing good things from Keanu Neal.
That said if there’s anyone who can help Jaylon Smith keep his job, it’s Dan Quinn.
Everyone is going to say nice things now while he’s still part of the 2021 plans. We’ll see how the team really feels about Jaylon next year.
I don’t understand why he is still a Cowboy people say he’s too much of a cap hit to release and then you keep an inferior player that shouldn’t be on the team doesn’t that have an extreme cost as well just asking
Contracts aside the best chance u have to win is to put the best players on the field. But jerry has his favorites plus it’s doubtful he would allow Smith to ride the pine at his salary. Same with Zeke. If he looks slow and plodding again (which makes him a liability) will they bench him in favor of Pollard or Dowdle (who has looked good). Sorta of emblematic of the dysfunction within this franchise. The coach has his hands tied due to a meddlesome owner who has no business making football decisions.
Exactly gary b, JJ needs to back off (good luck there) and put a GM in between him and the coaching staff. Reports elsewhere talk about JS, to be kind, below average play in camp so far. You have to put your best players on the field regardless of the DOLLARS.
Off subject, if there is such a thing as a steal in the first round, I think Pats got one. Understand it’s PS, but what a great problem to have at their QB position.
VAM- I like K Neal over Smith. He looks like a baller. 3 years in a row 100+ tackles. Sure tackler who brings the lumber with alot of range. If he can stay healthy plug him in at the WILL. Play Parsons at MLB and LVE is the 3rd LB. Speaking of steals Cox could sneak into the rotation at some point. Another rangy instinctive guy who flys to the ball.
Yea M Jones has impressed so far. Them Tide boys get coached up. He landed in a great place to learn and grow. The Patriots Way right. See if he beats out Cam who has been looking good.
Jaylon should be kept through his current contract for sure even if not a starter this year. He adds great depth in case of injury and is still better than any other option. The cap will go up and he may become affordable, they may restructure to a lower salary, etc. Especially if the scheme is better, he should be more effective at SLB and backup Mike to Parsons.
Everyone wants to knock Jaylon for his play but forgets how he was a monster a couple years ago and made several key goal line stands by himself. He is the reason we knocked off NO a couple years ago. Let’s not forget that the whole defense played like ass last year under a terrible coordinator. I am willing to give him one more year under a real coordinator.
As an NFL LB, Jaylon has a fine future as a high school coach.
If there’s anyplace where M Jones will succeed, it’s NE, ppl are giving up on the Pats WAY TOO EARLY especially with the fact that a lot of their players, including their stud LB Donta Hightower, didn’t play last year cuz they opted out with Covid
Even with the opt outs and crappy WRs and TEs last year in the same division as the Bills and Dolphins (both teams being no longer laughing stocks of their division) they still managed to go 7-9, which in our division, you would be contending last year,
they’re stable from the top which is what matters, it’s why we can’t ultimately get over the hump cuz the minute an owner meddles in GM or Coaching, it never works out, you don’t see Chiefs front office telling Reid what to do, or Lynch telling Shanahan what he should do at 49ers,
So till that dynamic changes in Dallas, to where Jerry brings in a quality HC and lets said HC do his job, and he also does the same with bringing in a GM, we won’t be successful at least to the point where we’d win SBs