Dallas Cowboys Spooky Game Part 1: Which 8 players are gone at season’s end?

Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith has seen his role reduced. The recent injuries and Covid deactivations have allowed him to save face and play much more than the coaching staff probably wants.

The Cowboys flirted with former Seattle and current Las Vegas linebacker K.J. Wright in the offseason. The feeling was the Cowboys would land one of the top two cornerbacks in the draft. Once both corners went before the Dallas pick, the team traded back and settled for their consolation prize.

The funny thing is it sounds like Parsons was their best player available but the team was intent on drafting for need. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the Cowboys are probably ready to move on from this fairy tale story. The funny thing is people still get mad when you bring up Jaylon’s play.

If Jaylon covers a running back in the flats yet has to celebrate the fact that he did his job makes me feel like he feels the heat but is still failing to publicly acknowledge it. PFF is the current barometer for how a player is playing and they graded him as a 68.0 player this season. Jayson’s play has improved but his grade shows that he is still playing at the level of a backup. Not ideal when he has a base salary of almost $10 million and counts for 4.7% of your cap space.

Dallas Cowboys: Let’s Play the Game

Should the Cowboys release Jaylon Smith now? The Cowboys could have gotten out from the Jaylon deal this past offseason yet the uncertainty of what Dan Quinn could do coupled with the uncertainty of the draft forced the team to wait on Jaylon Smith.

Dan Quinn has turned journeyman players into viable starters or rotation players into what could turn out to be a defensive rotation with more options they probably didn’t anticipate. Quinn’s magic makes me think this is the best Jaylon Smith will ever be.

If Jaylon Smith gets injured and cannot recover before the fifth day of the new league year, the Cowboys will have to pay him again next season.

Dallas Cowboys: The Verdict

Smith will probably become a post-June 1st cut as the move will give the Cowboys about $9.2 million in cap space and will only leave $2.6 million in dead cap space. With the Cowboy’s almost $18.5 million over the 2022 cap, allowing Smith to find a new home should be a no-doubter.

Jaylon Smith accounting for $11.8 million against the salary cap next season is nauseating. 5.6% of the salary cap for an underachieving player is madness and I wouldn’t even risk the chance to having to account for that contract so I am in the belief that Smith has to be released immediately.

At the very least, his play has to be reduced, and hope he avoids a serious injury. Smith is what I like to call a narcissistic player.  What I mean by that is everything has to be perfect in order for him to do his job. How long has it been since Jaylon filled a hole and stopped the ball carrier for a loss or no gain?

I have him graded as an unplayable player and although Jaylon fans will come at me for this, I have to write what I see. Are you keeping or releasing Jaylon Smith?