Cowboys shockingly release Pro Bowl LB Jaylon Smith

The Dallas Cowboys have a stud rookie linebacker in Micah Parsons who has played tremendous football through the first four weeks of the season.

In no way did this suggest that Pro Bowl linebacker Jaylon Smith was somehow on the roster bubble. Mere days following their win over the Carolina Panthers, the Cowboys have shocked the NFL world by releasing Smith.

According to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter, Dallas still owes Smith $7.2 million in guaranteed cash for the rest of the season — making the move even more surprising.

A second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys back in 2016, Smith went on to start all 16 games each of the next three seasons before seeing his reps limited through the first four games of the 2020 campaign (148 combined snaps).

A former standout at Notre Dame, Smith earned Pro Bowl honors during a tremendous 2019 campaign in Big D. That season saw him record 142 tackles, nine passes defended and two forced fumbles.

This move comes roughly two years after the Cowboys signed Smith to a six-year, $68.4 million extension.