On Tuesday night, the Dallas Cowboys shocked the football world by releasing former Pro Bowl linebacker Jaylon Smith.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cowboys decided it was the right time to move on from Smith. Cowboys insider Jane Slater reported the team tried to trade Smith before releasing him Tuesday night.
Football fans were stunned by the news. Smith made the Pro Bowl just two years ago, but clearly didn’t have a place in Dan Quinn’s defense moving forward.
“Had fallen out of favor in new system. Team doesn’t want to be on the hook for the guaranteed money of he gets hurt,” NFL insider Benjamin Allbright said.
Had fallen out of favor in new system,, team doesn’t want to be on the hook for the gtd money of he gets hurt. https://t.co/15WCoPg2VQ
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) October 6, 2021
Fans on social media couldn’t quite believe the Cowboys decided to move on from the talented linebacker, though.
Here’s some of the reaction from around social media.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhh What????? https://t.co/lvjukx39uu
— Joseph Herff (@JosephHerffNFL) October 6, 2021
Man, what? https://t.co/wFnfi87GrK
— Damon Sayles (@DamonSayles) October 6, 2021
The amount of times that I had to verify that this was really Adam Schefter’s account should tell you how shocked I am right now. WOW. https://t.co/El0um4kbBF
— Taylor Stern (@TayStern) October 6, 2021
According to a report from ESPN’s Field Yates, the Cowboys him $7.2M guaranteed this year and will eat an additional $9.8M in dead money as a result of this move.
Smith played just 28 snaps for the Dallas defense last weekend against the Carolina Panthers. With rookie linebacker Micah Parsons taking over, it was only a matter of time before Smith’s time in Dallas came to an end.
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