Five Dallas Cowboys who could have a comeback year in 2020

Aldon Smith, DE

Last year, the Cowboys received an unexpected bonus in the play of Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn, who they acquired in a low-risk, high reward trade from the Miami Dolphins. Quinn ended the season with 11.5 sacks, and was rewarded with a seventy million dollar contract from the Chicago Bears.

In the wake of losing Quinn, Dallas fans were concerned. Where would the team replace that production? Enter one Aldon Smith, previously with the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders.

In what now seems a prior life, Smith put together one of the greatest two-years of production in NFL history, making 33.5 sacks over 2011-12, his first two years in the league. That second year, the pass rusher took down the quarterback 19.5 times! That’s inhuman!

Sadly, that’s when trouble hit. An apparent victim of his own success, Smith experienced substance abuse and a variety of other personal problems for years. He was out of the league entirely by 2015.

Recently reinstated by the NFL, Smith appears sober and rock solid. Apparently, the man has spent some time in the weight room, going from 260 to 287 pounds with hardly an ounce of body fat, according to Jay Glazer via SI.com.

"“[Aldon Smith] is just freaking monstrous … We had him on these resistance cords connected to the wall on a machine called the Raptor. I’ve had a ton of guys on it — big huge guys, monsters. Smith ripped it off the wall … No one has ever done that. He is an absolute freak of nature. I don’t know who to compare him to because he’s 287 with a V. It’s ridiculous.”"

If Smith could be anywhere near the player he was, he’d help the Cowboys immensely. Heck, if he were able to achieve half the production of his rookie year, Smith would be in spitting distance of double-digit sacks.

Can Smith mount one of the greatest comebacks in sports history? Has anyone ever taken off four years from professional football and come back to dominate? He might be the first.