Dallas Cowboys: Byron Jones calls Jaylon Smith “healthy, 100 percent”

According to his teammate Byron Jones, Dallas Cowboys’ second-year linebacker Jaylon Smith appears more than healthy enough to make an impact this season.

One of the most anticipated storylines surrounding the Dallas Cowboys going into training camp next month is the health status of second-year linebacker Jaylon Smith. The former Notre Dame star spent all of last season sidelined, rehabilitating from a devastating knee injury that caused significant nerve damage that threaten the 22-year old’s professional football career.

But the Cowboys have been very careful about bringing Smith along slowly as well doing a good job of shielding him from the press. This has draped Jaylon’s medical status in a cloak of mystery. And although the news coming out of the Cowboys’ camp is nearly always positive, there are also some major lingering concerns yet to be answered.

For fans, there is little to no video to watch showing Smith in anything resembling game-action. Combined that with the fact the young linebacker may have to play with a brace for drop foot, a condition caused by the nerve damage suffered as a result of the knee injury, and it appears no one really knows Jaylon’s daily status outside of the team itself.

So when a player like starting safety Byron Jones, who sees up close and personal just how Smith is progressing, gives his opinion of the young linebacker’s growth; it’s certainly worth listening to.

"“[Smith’s] healthy, he’s 100 percent,” Jones told NFL Network’s Total Access via NFL.com. “His mind — he doesn’t worry about what happened two years ago. He doesn’t care about that. What he’s trying to do, I think his motto is clear-eyed vision. He’s doing well at that. He’s balling out for us so far. He’s learning the playbook and he looks healthy running around.”"

This news from a player like Byron Jones should hold more credence with fans over anything reported by the press or even the team’s media members as they have a very limited window to gauge Smith’s progress. This new insight is from someone that plays directly behind Jaylon on the field and likely has a better view of him than anyone else in the world to judge his speed, ability to cut and change direction on a daily basis.

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The heath status of Jaylon Smith will undoubtedly be the biggest story going into the Dallas Cowboys’ 2017 regular season. Although I fully expect the Cowboys to take things very slow with their former second round pick, according to his own teammates, Smith is living up to the massive hype.