Despite fan backlash, Dallas Cowboys continue to stand behind linebacker Jaylon Smith
Linebacker Jaylon Smith has gone from being one of the league’s best comeback stories to being seemingly a subject of disdain for Dallas Cowboys fans.
When he was picked in the second round in 2016 there was a question of whether he would ever play again after suffering a tragic knee injury in his final game at Notre Dame.
He spent his rookie season battling drop foot and nerve damage but a determined Smith proved his doubters wrong.
He has started the last three years, leading the Cowboys in tackles in 2019 and 2020. He was a Pro Bowl replacement last season and he felt he had reached the pinnacle.
Yet, all fans focus on are his missed tackles, him being out of position at times and some untimely celebrations.
Smith is certainly taken back by questions about his future and whether he believes the Cowboys might cut him in the offseason.
“I mean, watch the film,” Smith said. “But for me, it’s a blessing to be able to play this game. So many people thought I’d never play ever again. I’m my worst critic, and I’m my biggest fan. I’m gonna keep grinding, but the guys that know football and know our scheme and watch film. I don’t have to speak for myself, it’s all there.”
And then there is the matter of the six-year, $68 million contract extension he signed in 2019.
Some fans look at that deal and question it, but know that moving Smith would cost the cap-strapped Cowboys $9.8 million in dead money.
More importantly, the Cowboys don’t seem to have the same loathsome attitude toward the linebacker, who was the team’s pick as the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award candidate, the NFL’s highest off-the-field award.
They also have no one to replace him with at a position that has seen 2018 first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch miss 12 games the past two years due to injuries.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said that Smith, whose 154 tackles in 2020 ranked third in the NFL, has been productive and goes about his job the right way.
“I think Jaylon did some good things,” McCarthy said. “The fact that he lines up every day, the fact that he practices hard every day, plays hard, I thought he gave us some big time, productive games. I think he’s probably one of the ones that was challenged the most as far as the scheme change. I just love his approach and the way he’s gone about it.”
