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5 Jaylon Smith trade landing spots that would make Cowboys happy

By Cody Williams

Jun 3, 2021; Frisco, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys middle linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) goes through drills during voluntary Organized Team Activities at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 3, 2021; Frisco, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys middle linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) goes through drills during voluntary Organized Team Activities at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jaylon Smith trade
Jaylon Smith. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports /

Linebacker Jaylon Smith no longer looks like the player the Cowboys paid handsomely, but which NFL teams could they potentially trade him to?

Jaylon Smith has never been hard to root for. He was projected as a top-10 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, a terrible knee injury in his final college bowl game left his football future somewhat in jeopardy. The Dallas Cowboys, however, banked on his road back to the field as they used their second-round pick, No. 36 overall, to select the linebacker.

He sat out that 2016 season but, once he got on the field, he showed signs of becoming a star. That and his clear leadership qualities were why the front office felt comfortable signing him to a five-year extension prior to the 2019 campaign. But since then, the performance on the field hasn’t been up to par.

Since then, the Cowboys have drafted Micah Parsons in the first round, have Leighton Vander Esch healthy and have free-agent addition Keanu Neal playing well as he transitions to linebacker. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that Jaylon Smith is left in the cold — but Dallas is paying a $9.8 million cap hit for a player in that position.

Dallas can’t cut Smith because they’d eat all of the money in dead cap. But if they were to find a trade partner, they would save over $7 million. And with CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker reporting that teams were interested in trading for the linebacker back in June, it’s possible they could find someone willing to take on some of that salary.

Here are five teams that could potentially trade for Jaylon Smith.

The AFC champs would make sense for a Jaylon Smith trade

5. Kansas City Chiefs – Currently, the Chiefs are starting Anthony Hitchens — a former Cowboy in his own right — along with 2020 second-round pick Willie Gay Jr. They also used a second-rounder in this year’s draft on Nick Bolton, a prospect who has a lot of upside and the ability to play some right away.

With that said, they are overall shallow at the position and need more playmakers in the middle of the field. While Jaylon Smith’s leg still clearly limits him, pairing him with a speedy player like Gay along with other veterans would allow him to play a valuable role for Kansas City right away.

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