Tyron Smith and the Dallas Cowboys are indeed seeing the end of an era. Before Smith entered free agency, the two parties met during the 2024 NFL Combine. However, no deal was reached, so the 33-year-old decided to test the market. According to a number of sources, including one from NFL.com, he is now anticipated to sign with the New York Jets for the upcoming season.
The reported value of the one-year contract is over $20 million.
The Cowboys were still very interested in keeping the eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle in Dallas for the foreseeable future, according to executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones, who stated as much as one day before.
The door is open,” said Jones. “Tyron Smith is gonna be a Hall of Fame football player. He’s had an amazing career and we certainly haven’t shut the door on a continued career here in Dallas. He’s a man’s man and one of the greatest left tackles to [ever] play the game. No one feels better about Tyron Smith than this organization.
“We have nothing but big-time thoughts about Tyron and what he’s all about.”
It was not to be, however, as he’ll look to protect Aaron Rodgers going forward.
Entering the 2023 season, it appeared Smith was on the final leg of his illustrious career, at least physically. After all, he has struggled annually to remain on the field for the entire regular season and the emergence of rookie sensation Tyler Smith (and his ability to pop outside to left tackle and still dominate) made it appear the elder Smith had lost his spot.
That turned out to be wildly untrue though, because while Tyron Smith did again miss time in 2023, he’d play in the majority of the games and looked every bit the perennial All-Pro when he suited up in his 13 starts.
A new practice regimen in Dallas — i.e., not practicing at all — might have added a couple years to his career.
Time will tell if that’s true, but he’s likely heading to Canton down the road no matter what happens next in his career, one that has thus far spanned more than 160 starts since 2011
For the first time in his career, he’ll put on a uniform that doesn’t have the star on it.
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