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3 potential landing spots for Cowboys Jaylon Smith in 2021

By Steven Mullenax

Jaylon Smith, Dallas Cowboys (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Jaylon Smith, Dallas Cowboys (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Jaylon Smith, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys
Jaylon Smith, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

If the Dallas Cowboys release him, where would Jaylon Smith land?

The future of linebacker Jaylon Smith with the Dallas Cowboys remains unclear. Although according to the five-year, $64 million extension Smith signed last year, he’s scheduled to be a Cowboy until 2026.

But despite being nominated to his first Pro Bowl last year, Smith’s play started to regress in 2019. And that decline continued this season under new head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

And according to the MMQB’s Albert Breer, the brass within the walls of The Star in Frisco have noticed. They’ve noticed how Smith seems to find himself at the heart of several bad plays. And Breer says he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cowboys part ways with the fourth-year linebacker at the end of this season.

So it appears the final few games of the Cowboys’ regular-season schedule might be used as a barometer to determine Smith’s future in Dallas. And while the 25-year old is coming off a good performance against the Cincinnati Bengals where he posted 11 total tackles, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery, here are three other NFL teams that might be ideal landing places for Smith if the Cowboys do decide to move on.

The New York Giants

The connection with the G-Men is pretty straight forward. Smith had his best season for the Cowboys with former head coach Jason Garrett at the helm. With Garrett now the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants, a reunion between the two seems plausible.

When moving to the Big Apple, Garrett brought with him some coaches and players from his time in Dallas. And that includes running back Rod Smith, Jaylon’s older brother (he was released in September).

The Giants’ linebacker corps has been lackluster for years. But they appear to have found a solid piece in Blake Martinez, the former Green Bay Packers’ defender who they signed as a free agent in the offseason. Pairing Martinez with someone like Smith could help solidify that unit. Especially considering linebacker Kyler Fackrell, an eight-game starter for New York this season, is only on a one-year deal.

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