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Jaylon Smith

Saints Sign LB Jaylon Smith

August 10th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Ben Levine

4:00pm: The Saints signed Smith following his workout today, according to Schultz (on Twitter).

3:10pm: A week after working out for the Raiders, Jaylon Smith is auditioning for the Saints. The free agent linebacker worked out for New Orleans today, according to Jordan Schultz (via Twitter).

[RELATED: Raiders Work Out LB Jaylon Smith]

It’s been a quiet offseason for Smith, with his Raiders visit marking his first reported workout. Despite getting into 23 games over the past two years, Smith had to settle for practice squad gigs during the 2021 regular season and 2022 offseason. If he does find a landing spot this month, he’ll probably be inking another non-guaranteed pact.

The former second-round pick was a Pro Bowler during his time with the Cowboys, with the linebacker averaging 139 tackles per season between 2018 and 2020. He underwent wrist surgery during the 2021 offseason, and after refusing to waive his 2022 injury guaranteed (while also getting lapped by Micah Parsons and Keanu Neal on the depth chart), Smith was cut by Dallas.

After catching on with the Giants at the end of the 2021 campaign, he re-joined their practice squad last September. He ended up seeing time in 13 games (11 starts) during the 2022 season, collecting 88 tackles and one sack. Pro Football Focus only ranked him 60th among 81 qualifying linebackers, although they did grade him as one of the best pass-rushing options at his position.

Earlier this week, Saints head coach Dennis Allen hinted that the team could be looking for some depth at off-ball linebacker. Demario Davis had been sidelined with a calf injury, leaving 2022 fifth-round pick D’Marco Jackson as the primary option at the position.

Raiders Work Out LB Jaylon Smith

August 2nd, 2023 at 2:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders have gone through some turnover at linebacker over the past two offseasons. Most recently, two-year starter Denzel Perryman relocated — to Houston — despite Las Vegas being interested in another deal.

Jayon Brown also played out his one-year contract last season, leaving Divine Deablo as the team’s lone returning second-level regular. The team did sign Robert Spillane in March and use a sixth-round pick on Amari Burney. But the prospect of another veteran addition has been on the Las Vegas radar for a bit now.

The team is looking into that prospect Wednesday, with The Score’s Jordan Schultz noting Jaylon Smith is in Vegas today for a workout (Twitter link). The former Cowboys starter spent last season with the Giants, starting 11 games to run his career start count to 69. Smith made 88 tackles and recovered a fumble last season, which was an unstable year for the Giants at linebacker. Pro Football Focus graded Smith as the No. 60 overall off-ball ‘backer in 2022.

Smith lost his starting spot in Dallas early during the 2021 season and ended up being released. His profile has taken a hit over the past two years, coming after the Cowboys gave the Notre Dame alum a big-ticket extension in 2019. Dallas signed Smith to a six-year, $68.4MM re-up during the ’19 offseason. Fond of long-running contracts, the Cowboys cut bait two seasons into that deal. Smith finished the 2020 season with a career-high 154 tackles, completing his second straight season with 140-plus stops.

Raiders DC Patrick Graham coached Smith, 28, briefly during his Giants tenure. The Giants took a flier on the former second-round pick during the 2021 season, after both the Cowboys and Packers cut him. Smith ended up re-signing with the Giants in September 2022, rising from the practice squad into a starting role. The Giants had cut Blake Martinez, who soon signed with the Raiders before retiring in-season (to go full throttle with an evidently lucrative side hustle), and seen Darrian Beavers suffer an ACL tear in the preseason. Beavers is now healthy, and the Giants have Bobby Okereke anchoring their ILB corps.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/1/22

October 1st, 2022 at 7:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league, including practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s action:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/22

September 20th, 2022 at 8:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Giants To Bring Back LB Jaylon Smith

September 19th, 2022 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jaylon Smith is back with the Giants. The veteran linebacker, who started two games with the NFC East squad last season, rejoined the team Monday, according to his agent (on Twitter).

The longtime Cowboys starter has bounced around since his Dallas stay abruptly ended early during the 2021 campaign, but teams have continued to offer opportunities. Smith, 27, played for three teams — the Cowboys, Packers and Giants — in 2021. This move comes ahead of the Giants’ Week 3 game against the Cowboys.

This could well be a practice squad agreement, but in the 16-player P-squad era, those transactions have regularly led to promotions for veterans. Teams are allowed to carry six vested veterans on practice squads. A 2016 second-round pick, Smith has 58 career starts (56 as a Cowboy) and certainly would upgrade the Giants’ experience on their defensive second level.

The Cowboys gave Smith a five-year, $63.75MM deal in 2019. Smith made the Pro Bowl that year and tallied a career-high 154 tackles in 2020, but the Cowboys went in another direction under 2021 DC hire Dan Quinn. The team has cut costs along its linebacking corps, which is now built around star hybrid player Micah Parsons‘ rookie contract.

The new Giants regime made a late-summer roster tweak by releasing two-year starter Blake Martinez, leaving an uncertain lot of defenders at this position group under new DC Don Martindale. The team has Tae Crowder positioned as its top off-ball linebacker but has not established a second full-timer at the position thus far this season.

Although Smith at his best would easily profile as a starter-caliber player in New York, teams have not viewed the former Notre Dame star as a starter-caliber player since his Cowboys release. The Packers released Smith not long after signing him last year, and the Giants did not opt to bring him back in free agency after the parties’ late-season partnership. Smith made 19 tackles and registered a sack during his four-game Giants cameo last season.

Giants Promote Jaylon Smith

December 20th, 2021 at 2:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have signed linebacker Jaylon Smith to the 53-man roster, according to agent Doug Hendrickson (on Twitter). Smith debuted as a temporary elevation on Sunday and he’s now a full-fledged member of the varsity squad.

[RELATED: Giants’ Shepard Done For Year]

Smith, 26, earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2019 with 154 tackles, good for the second-highest total in the NFL. He was still productive for the Cowboys early on this year too — the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus pegged him as a top-15 linebacker through four weeks. Still, the Cowboys opted to cut him and eat the remainder of his $7.2MM base salary. That led him to a two-game stint with the Packers and a December practice squad deal with the G-Men.

Terms of the contract are not known, but it’s likely a low-cost deal since the Cowboys are still on the hook for Smith’s original $7.2MM base salary. The former Notre Dame standout will be eligible to play this week when the Giants face the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/21

December 18th, 2021 at 1:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Giants Sign LB Jaylon Smith To Practice Squad

December 17th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jaylon Smith is heading to his third team this season, and second in the NFC East. The linebacker has been signed to the Giants’ practice squad, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). 

The 26-year-old played four seasons in Dallas after being drafted by the Cowboys, but was released on October 5th. He ranked second in the league in tackles with 154 in 2020, but was let go after he declined to waive his injury guarantee for the 2022 campaign. That left the Cowboys on the hook for $7.2MM in dead money, but allowed them to move forward with their linebacking corps headed by first-round rookie Micah Parsons.

Smith caught on with another NFC contender, quickly signing with the Packers. He played just 27 snaps across two games with Green Bay, however, registering only one tackle. In November, he was let go for the second time this year.

Smith will now join a Giants’ team whose linebackers have been “hit by the flu”, according to the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard. His first opportunity to play for his newest team will come on Sunday, against the Cowboys of all opponents.

Packers Release LB Jaylon Smith

November 2nd, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Packers are cutting linebacker Jaylon Smith, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith joined the Packers just a few weeks ago, but he’s back on the market and free to sign with any club. 

Smith, 26, earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2019 with 154 tackles, good for the second-highest total in the NFL. He was still productive for the Cowboys this year too — the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus pegged him as a top-15 linebacker through four weeks. Still, the Cowboys opted to cut him and eat the remainder of his $7.2MM base salary.

Smith’s Packers tenure will end after just two games and a single tackle with Green Bay. The Panthers and the Washington Football Team were both said to be in on him in early October, so either one of those clubs could circle back. Smith may also make sense for the Steelers, who have just traded Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs for a Day 3 draft pick. The Steelers are reportedly eyeing defensive line help, but it couldn’t hurt to beef up elsewhere in the front seven.

The Packers, sans Smith, will ride a seven-game winning streak into this week’s game against the Chiefs.

Panthers, Washington Pursued Jaylon Smith

October 13th, 2021 at 9:43am CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers ended up winning the quickly developing recruiting battle for Jaylon Smith, but they fended off multiple NFC suitors to do so. Both Carolina and Washington were in the mix for the longtime starter last week, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes.

With the Cowboys still on the hook for Smith’s $7.2MM base salary this season, the Packers landed the sixth-year defender for the league minimum. This amount to a recruiting competition instead of a bidding war, but Schefter adds Smith was interested in joining both the Panthers and Washington.

Smith’s relationship with Packers HC Matt LaFleur mattered here. Despite LaFleur coaching Notre Dame’s quarterbacks for just one season (2014, when Smith was a sophomore), Schefter notes he and Smith have kept in touch throughout Smith’s career and the relationship moved the needle. Smith did not suit up for Green Bay’s Week 5 game in Cincinnati, marking his first absence since Week 17 of his injury-redshirt rookie season, but will obviously be on track to contribute soon.

The Panthers have been busy on the trade front already, acquiring corners Stephon Gilmore and C.J. Henderson. They are looking for offensive linemen as well. Carolina moved Jermaine Carter into a three-down role alongside Shaq Thompson at this season’s outset. Washington used a first-round pick on Jamin Davis this year. He has played a part-time role thus far, with Cole Holcomb serving as a three-down ‘backer for the struggling WFT defense. The Cowboys had used Smith as a three-down player for years, but they reduced his snaps this season after making key offseason additions at the position.

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