Dallas Cowboys: Jaylon Smith worth expensive price tag
Jaylon Smith signed a lucrative contract extension to remain with the Dallas Cowboys and, though expensive, the linebacker is worth every penny.
Amidst contract sagas for Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescot — and with a potential Amari Cooper deal looming, too — the Dallas Cowboys instead inked another deal first. On Tuesday, the team announced that they’ve signed linebacker Jaylon Smith to a massive five-year contract extension. Smith was set to be a restricted free agent after this season but is now locked in for the next six years in Dallas.
Smith’s new deal is getting the Notre Dame product paid in a big way. The five-year pact is worth $64 million with $35.5 million guaranteed and $20 million of that money being paid out over the next 16 months, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Considering he was due less than $2 million in the 2019 season, that’s quite the raise for the linebacker.
Throughout the 2015 college football season, Smith emerged as a star for the Fighting Irish and was pegged as a potential top-five pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. However, a horrific knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl put his future of ever playing football again in jeopardy.
Yet, the Cowboys took a risk on Smith, taking him early in the second round. He sat out for all of 2016 rehabbing his injury, waiting for nerves to start firing again in his knee. The breakthrough finally came heading into 2017 and the linebacker took the field. And while the flashes of his elite athleticism were there, his overall play was disappointing.
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Then the 2018 campaign came and everything changed. Paired with rookie Leighton Vander Esch, Smith was a stud for a revamped and shockingly dangerous Dallas defense. Pro Football Focus named him their Breakout Player of the Year for last season as Smith was the seventh-highest graded linebacker by their metrics.
Paying a player this handsomely after only one season of top-level performance might appear risky on the part of the Cowboys, especially when players like Prescott, Elliott and Cooper are also looking for new deals. And it may be.
At the same time, though, Dallas’ entire investment in Smith has been a risk and it paid off last season. The Cowboys emerged, shockingly, as one of the best defensive teams in the NFL and the versatility of Smith in the middle of the field was a major factor in that. After locking up DeMarcus Lawrence earlier this offseason, they now lock up two key cogs in that unit to keep the train rolling.
Furthermore, Smith’s attitude and leadership abilities are a tone-setter for Dallas. Despite all the hardships he’s faced, he’s consistently been putting in the sweat equity to first just get back on the field and now to become an elite player. That type of locker room and presence on the field is invaluable for a team that continues to build.
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Yes, the price tag to lock up Jaylon Smith is a hefty one. However, he’s looking like he’s rounding back into form as the top-five prospect from the 2016 draft class and is part of the heartbeat of the Cowboys newfound defensive prowess. He’s worth the money and anything to the contrary just isn’t taking the whole situation into account.