The Dallas Cowboys have been surprisingly separated from Linebacker Jaylon Smith. Its contract would have originally ran until 2025.

As Adam Schefter reported by espn on Tuesday, Smith was released after discussing his situation with team owner Jerry Jones. Cowboys need to pay its guaranteed salary of $ 7.2 million for the current season, however. According to the report, it should have previously given trading calls earlier in the season, but a deal never came about.

Smith had fallen back in the internal chopping order under the new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn over the summer, even if he had not missed a game in his NFL career until today. Rookie Micah Parsons had also overtaken him as newcomer Keanu Neal, while Leighton Vander Esch is healthy and also received the advantage.

Smith, who has not started a game this season, nevertheless came to 148 out of 264 Snaps and scored 19 tackle. The two-round chip of the Cowboys in the draft 2016 was only signed in 2019 a contract extension of $ 64 million over five years, which guaranteed them 35.5 million dollars. In 2019, he also reached the Pro Bowl for the first time.

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However, the discharge saves the Cowboys its base salary of $ 9.2 million, which was guaranteed only in case of injury.