Cowboys’ $97.6 Million Pro Bowler Tabbed ‘Can’t Lose’ Free Agent

Tackle Terence Steele had a difficult year as he recovered from

ACL surgery and was awarded a massive $82.5 million contract by the team.

Tyler Smith was picked in the first round in 2022 to eventually replace Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith

once the eight-year, $97.6 million contract deal he signed in 2014 expired. That should happen right now.

However, Tyler Smith has established himself as a very fine left guard, while Tyron Smith,

despite being 33, is one of the top left tackles in the NFL.

In fact, the older Smith has been so successful that Pro Football Focus claims

he is the one free agent the team “can’t afford to lose” in the 2024 offseason,

despite missing four games due to injury this year.

“Smith is in the back nine of his career and should expect to miss a game or two in any given season,

but he’s been a remarkable value for Dallas for nearly a decade.

If he wants to stay with the Cowboys, he should not be allowed to play in another uniform,” PFF noted this week.

“Smith’s 847 snaps played in 2023 were his most since 2019,

and his 3.6% pressure rate allowed was third-lowest among tackles across the league.”

Cowboys Tyron Smith Continued to Produce at Age 33

Indeed, the team got tremendous production from Smith again this season,

his 13th in the NFL. He did not make the Pro Bowl this season,

but he could have if he had not missed nearly a quarter of the season.

Smith concluded the year with an 83.7 grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking fourth in the NFL among all tackles.

Smith is PFF’s top free-agent tackle and 14th-ranked free agent overall.

He is expected to receive a contract for approximately $10 million for one year.

Speaking about Tyron Smith’s season last week,

coach Mike McCarthy said he may be back and hopes he can stay healthy.

“I think the biggest thing for Tyron is, you know,

we talked about the path of his season and the training plan that was in place for him,

” McCarthy was quoted as saying.

“This is undoubtedly his best season that I’ve had with him since 2020. So he felt quite happy about that.”

Retirement Question: Dallas or Done?

Smith may have a difficulty on the market since he believes he wants to play just in Dallas,

giving the Cowboys an advantage in bargaining with him.

That belief was discussed last year, when the Cowboys were facing a cap constraint and contemplated cutting Smith.

Eventually, the team reworked the last year of his contract.

As former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus noted on the “Love of the Star” podcast in February,

“I tell you what, there’s a side of me that believes, and this is because it’s been reported to me,

that if they trade or cut Tyron Smith, he’s done.”

He would simply retire. If he were traded or fired, he would simply quit.

I believe that is where we are right now.

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