Cowboys move Keith Smith from linebacker to fullback

In an effort to give Keith Smith a better opportunity to make the team, the Dallas Cowboys have moved him from linebacker to fullback.

Smith has been a fringe player to make the 53-man roster, being shuffled on and off the active roster multiple times the past two seasons. But the Cowboys like what he brings to special teams, and feel he would have more value if he can transition to fullback.

“You are looking for reasons to keep a guy like that on the team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Sometimes you feel better about him maybe playing a different position than linebacker or you have other guys that have surpassed him at the linebacker position. You want to give those guys a chance there and you still want to give him a chance to make the team somewhere else.

“And fullback is a position that sometimes you move guys to and see how they handle it.

The easiest transition to fullback is from linebacker. You kind of see the game the same way. It makes sense to do that.”

Smith is listed at 6-foot, 232 pounds and seems to have the build to make the switch work. Garrett pointed to former Cowboys fullback Robert Thomas who had success making the change.

Rod Smith is also switching to fullback from tailback, and is expected to compete with Keith Smith for the job.

Tyler Clutts, who has been with the Cowboys since late 2013, is a free agent. Clutts played in 13 percent of the offensive snaps (133) a season ago, and also had 79 snaps on special teams.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Cowboys move Keith Smith from linebacker to fullback."