Jaylon Smith - Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys Place Jaylon Smith On NFI

August 30th, 2016 at 2:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys have placed rookie linebacker Jaylon Smith on the non-football injury list, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. As such, Smith will not be able to play for at the first six weeks of the season. Of course, the odds are that Smith won’t play during the 2016 campaign at all as he recovers from a knee injury.

In late 2015, Smith was viewed as a potential top-10 selection in the upcoming draft. However, that all changed when the Notre Dame standout tore his ACL and MCL in January. To make things worse, Smith was also diagnosed with a nerve issue in his ankle. At that point, teams began to fear that the linebacker would require a “redshirt” season in the NFL. Even though multiple teams gave Smith a failing grade on his physical at the combine and subsequently removed him from their draft boards, the Cowboys felt that Smith’s potential was just too good to pass up.

In his junior season with the Fighting Irish, Smith totaled 115 tackles with 9.0 tackles for a loss and 1 sack. In the year prior, he put up a similar statline of 111 tackles, 9.0 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks. If Smith spends the season on the NFI list, as expected, he’ll be a restricted free agent in 2020 instead of an unrestricted free agent.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Notes: Pederson, Cowboys, McClain

July 20th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

When Chip Kelly came to the Eagles, he offered a reputation as an innovator. Doug Pederson doesn’t come with that same rep, but he does offer many years of experience as an NFL player, which he says helps him to connect with his guys.

“Back when I played, the head coach was more kind of up here,” Pederson said to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer, holding his hand high. “I don’t want to be up here. I want to be right down here with the guys. That’s why I love what I do with these players every single day . . . I’m going to dive in there with the players. I know exactly what they’re thinking. I know when it’s time to give the players a break. That’s the beauty of having been a player. You know when enough’s enough. I feel it’s important to have those relationships with the players. You’re not going to have it with all 90 guys on the roster. But you’re going to have them with the majority of the guys each and every day. You walk around practice and you talk to them. It doesn’t have to be football-related. That’s the beauty of this thing. I get to talk to them one-on-one every single day. Find out how they’re doing. That’s the beauty of being in this chair. I get to do that. That’s what I love doing.”

Under Pederson, can the Eagles win the NFC East for the first time since 2013? While you ponder that, here’s a look at their competition:

It has been speculated that that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the few voices in the Dallas front office that doesn’t want to cut ties with troubled linebacker Rolando McClain. This week, Jones disputed that notion in a radio interview. “Everybody lobbied to have McClain on the team. Every coach that’s associated with the team lobbied for that,” Jones said (via The Dallas Morning News). “To be fair to everybody concerned, we didn’t know that he was going to get suspended. But his issues were potentially recognized, maybe not to the extent that he would lose the games that he got in this suspension. But make no mistake about it: With all of his warts, he still considered a potential asset for the team by the coaches.” McClain will be suspended for the first 10 games of the 2016 season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. To help fill the gap, the Cowboys recently signed veteran linebacker Justin Durant.
It has been reported that rookie linebacker Jaylon Smith will not play in 2016, but, publicly, Jones will not shut the door on the possibility (link via The Dallas Morning News). In late 2015, Smith was viewed as a potential top-10 selection in the upcoming draft. However, that all changed when the Notre Dame standout tore his ACL and MCL in January. When Smith fell into the second round, the Cowboys pounced.
The Redskins didn’t make a strong effort to bridge the gap with Kirk Cousins before last week’s contract deadline, but that’s not necessarily a reflection on how the team feels about the QB, Mike Jones of The Washington Post writes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys’ Jaylon Smith Unlikely To Play In 2016

June 29th, 2016 at 12:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys remain excited about their second-round draft choice, but it’s going to be a while before they get to see him in live action. Jaylon Smith has experienced no significant improvement in his injured nerve so far and playing in 2016 seems unlikely, according to ESPN.com’s Ed Werder (via Twitter).

In late 2015, Smith was viewed as a potential top-10 selection in the upcoming draft. However, that all changed when the Notre Dame standout tore his ACL and MCL in January. To make things worse, Smith was also diagnosed with a nerve issue in his ankle. At that point, teams began to fear that the linebacker would require a “redshirt” season in the NFL. Even though multiple teams gave Smith a failing grade on his physical at the combine and subsequently removed him from their draft boards, the Cowboys felt that Smith’s potential was just too good to pass up.

In his junior season with the Fighting Irish, Smith totaled 115 tackles with 9.0 tackles for a loss and 1 sack. In the year prior, he put up a similar statline of 111 tackles, 9.0 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks. If Smith spends the season on the NFI list, as expected, he’ll be a restricted free agent in 2020 instead of an unrestricted free agent.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Draft Signings: Steelers, Cowboys, Raiders

May 20th, 2016 at 5:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s draft signings:

In addition to Smith (listed below), the Cowboys announced that they’ve also agreed to terms with sixth-round pick Rico Gathers. The 6’6″, 273-pound former Baylor basketball player did not play football at the collegiate level, but is expected to pursue an NFL career at tight end. Dallas has now locked up six of its nine 2016 draft picks.

Earlier updates:

The Steelers have agreed to terms with second-round pick Sean Davis on a four-year deal, according to a source who spoke with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. The Steelers have since confirmed the deal. Davis has now become the fourth Steelers draft pick to sign his rookie pact.
The Cowboys have signed second-round linebacker Jaylon Smith to a four-year deal, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer writes. It remains to be seen when Smith will take the field, however. The prevailing belief is that he will need a redshirt year because of the serious knee injury he suffered in January. If Smith spends the season on the NFI list, he’ll be a restricted free agent in 2020 instead of an unrestricted free agent, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter).
The Raiders announced the signing of sixth-round linebacker Cory James. James, selected No. 194 overall, played in 51 games with 46 starts over four seasons at Colorado State, totaling 230 tackles (112 solo), 24 sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three passes defensed.

Cowboys Notes: Hardy, QBs, Smith, Lawrence

May 5th, 2016 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Stephen Jones, the Cowboys were done with Greg Hardy when the 2015 season ended, despite not publicly making that stance clear until more recently, as Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram writes.

“I think one of the most important things is when you take a chance with a player, if you see it’s not working, it’s time to move on,” said Jones, the Cowboys’ executive VP. “We gave it its due in terms of a year here, and we just felt like at the end of the day, it wasn’t the right fit.”

Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones went on record saying that Hardy will not be back, but it appears that the decision was made months ago. On the field, Hardy still has plenty to offer, but it would seem Dallas is not interested in dealing with the off-field headaches. Last season, Hardy ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Let’s round up a few more Cowboys-related items:

The Cowboys missed out on drafting Paxton Lynch, but they’re content with their quarterback depth chart as it stands today, writes Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram. Kellen Moore will be Tony Romo‘s primary backup in 2016, per Jerry Jones. “I think Kellen Moore has shown the ‘it,'” Jones said. “He has the instincts. He has the anticipation. He knows what’s going on. He gives me and us a great feeling about basically improving. Obviously those interceptions were not something you can live with, but some of the stuff he was doing was pretty obvious that the team was responding. He was able to move the team.” Rookie Dak Prescott will likely fill the No. 3 spot behind Romo and Moore.
While the general consensus in the Cowboys organization seems to be that second-round pick Jaylon Smith will miss the entire 2016 season, Jerry Jones isn’t ready to commit to taking the linebacker off the regular-season roster, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. Appearing on 105.3 The Fan, Jones said Smith “will not be IR’d,” noting that the club hopes Smith can be available for the latter part of the season. We’ll see if Dallas sticks to that stance in September.
During that appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Jones also said that he’s holding out hope for Demarcus Lawrence‘s suspension to be reduced from four games to two games (link via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Lawrence’s four-game ban is currently under appeal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos

April 30th, 2016 at 12:10pm CST by Ben Levine

With the fourth round nearly halfway done, let’s check in on some draft whispers from around the league…

The Cowboys‘ gameplan for the second round was to select Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and then move up and select Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Ogbah was ultimately selected by the Browns with the first pick of the second round, and Dallas snagged Smith two picks later.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says there was a general belief that the Cowboys would select quarterback Connor Cook with pick No. 101, leading to the Raiders‘ acquisition of the 100th pick. Meanwhile, Rapoport notes that Oakland is planning on keeping Matt McGloin and allowing the two quarterbacks to compete for the back-up job.
According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter), the Dolphins slapped Leonte Carroo with a “second-round grade.” Miami ended up snagging the Rutgers wideout late in the third round.
If Laremy Tunsil hadn’t been around at No. 13, the Dolphins would have selected UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Eli Apple, who was selected 10th overall, was also under consideration for the pick.
Speaking of Tunsil, ESPN’s Adam Schefter determined how much money the offensive lineman actually lost on Thursday evening (via Twitter). The Ravens were prepared to select the embattled University of Mississippi product with the sixth-overall pick, but Tunsil ended up falling to No. 13. Schefter estimates that the rookie lost nearly $7MM after having fallen eight spots.
The Broncos are fielding calls on several of their picks, reports Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter). The team has a compensatory fourth-round pick (which can’t be traded), as well as two fifth-round selections.

AFC Rumors: Browns, Bills, Broncos, Pats

April 30th, 2016 at 12:00am CST by Luke Adams

After selecting USC quarterback Cody Kessler with the No. 93 pick in the draft, Browns executive Sashi Brown said he doesn’t think the team needs to make a roster move involving a quarterback right away, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).

Cleveland’s depth chart at QB is getting crowded, with Kessler joining Robert Griffin, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Connor Shaw, and Pat Devlin, so the team will have to make some decisions eventually, but Brown said tonight that he likes encouraging competition at the position.

The Browns’ executive VP of football operations also said after round three that the team will consider trade options at the start of day three. Cleveland currently holds the top two picks of the fourth round, and has four overall picks in the round. The team hasn’t been shy about trading down so far, and Brown is sure the team will receive calls about those fourth-rounders, as Ulrich tweets.

The Bills are exploring finding a way to land Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook on Saturday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who suggests (via Twitter) that it would take “some 2017 ammo” for Buffalo to move up. The club currently doesn’t own a 2016 fourth-round pick that can be traded.
Broncos general manager John Elway confirmed that his team is in no rush to add a fourth quarterback to a roster that features Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch, and Trevor Siemian, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Elway didn’t rule out adding another signal-caller, but suggested it’s not a priority for the club.
If the Cowboys hadn’t taken Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith early in the second round, the Patriots are one team that would have had interest in nabbing him, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. New England had back-to-back picks late in round two, but traded one of them, with Smith no longer available.

Cowboys Rule Out Re-Signing Greg Hardy

April 29th, 2016 at 11:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Having not seriously engaged in talks with defensive end Greg Hardy since his contract expired last month, the Cowboys have long appeared unlikely to re-sign him. Tonight, owner Jerry Jones formally confirmed that Hardy won’t be back, telling reporters – including ESPN’s Todd Archer – that door is officially closed.

The Cowboys are looking thin at defensive end, and are in need of pass-rushing help, with Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory facing four-game suspensions and Jeremy Mincey no longer under contract. The club also didn’t use any of its first three 2016 draft picks to select an outside pass rusher.

Hardy would certainly qualify as an upgrade for the Cowboys on the field — the former Panther had another solid season as a pass rusher in 2015, recording six sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception in 12 games. He wasn’t quite as dominant as he was during his best years in Carolina, but Hardy ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender, out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus.

However, Hardy’s off-field history and his behavior during his lone season in Dallas didn’t particularly endear him to the Cowboys as the season wore on. When taking into account his questionable in-season decisions, both on and off the field, as well as his alleged domestic violence history, it makes sense that the Cowboys would consider Hardy to be too much of a liability – or at least a distraction – to invest in going forward.

Here are a few more notes from out of Dallas:

Jerry Jones said today that he doesn’t think it’s mandatory that the Cowboys select a quarterback on the final day of the draft. The team had interest in trading up for Paxton Lynch on Thursday, but Jones says he’s comfortable with Kellen Moore as Tony Romo‘s backup (Twitter link via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News).
A source tells Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link) that the Cowboys feel better about Jaylon Smith‘s medicals than they did about Myles Jack‘s. That’s not a big surprise, since Dallas selected Smith with Jack still on the board. Even if Smith misses the entire 2016 season, as is expected, there’s a perception that his knee condition will improve, while Jack’s could deteriorate.
While Smith will likely miss all of 2016, Jerry Jones cautioned not to count out the former Notre Dame linebacker just yet, tweets Archer.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Pack, Lions, Cards

April 29th, 2016 at 11:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Cowboys believe they got an elite prospect when they chose injured Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith in the second round (34th overall). In fact, the team graded Smith as a top-five prospect in this year’s draft, according to owner Jerry Jones. Said executive vice president Stephen Jones, “He may not football play this year. What he is ultimately going to be he is definitely worth our second-round pick” (Twitter links via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Prior to tearing his ACL and LCL on Jan. 1, Smith was seen as a surefire first-rounder and a likely top-10 pick.

Draft Rumors: Jack, Bills, Cowboys, Bears

April 29th, 2016 at 7:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Had the Jaguars traded down from No. 5 in the first round into the teens, they might have taken UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, according to general manager David Caldwell (Twitter link via John Oehser of Jaguars.com). The Jags stayed at fifth overall and selected Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, and they still ended up with Jack in the second round (36th overall). Jack, who’s recovering from a knee injury, took out a pre-draft insurance policy on himself, though he won’t collect any money from it because it wasn’t scheduled to kick in until the 45th pick, reports Darren Rovell of ESPN (Twitter link via Schefter).

Here’s more of the latest from the draft:

Bills general manager Doug Whaley contacted every team picking before Buffalo in the second round in an effort to trade up for Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, he said (link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). Whaley ultimately did move up and grab Ragland after sending the Bills’ second-rounder (No. 49) and a fourth-rounder in each of the next two drafts to the Bears for the 41st choice.
Speaking of the Bears, they nearly had a deal to acquire the Cowboys’ second-rounder, No. 34 overall. Talks fell apart, though, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), and the Cowboys ended up using the pick on Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith.
As a result of the knee injury he suffered in January, Smith took out on a $5MM insurance policy on himself before the draft and will now collect an estimated $900K in tax-free payment, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Cowboys have fielded trade inquiries on veteran offensive lineman Ronald Leary, but they’re not inclined to give him away for an underwhelming return, said executive vice president Stephen Jones. The Cowboys would rather keep Leary, leave him inactive all year, and get a compensatory pick for him next year when he leaves in free agency (Twitter links via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Leary, a four-year veteran, signed his second-round restricted free agent tender with the Cowboys on Thursday.